Beta Orionis
by LoveandPeppermints
Summary: After losing her husband Regulus Black, Lenna has raised their son alone in the peace after Voldemort's fall in 1981. But 14 years later the Dark Lord is on the rise again, and both she and her son will have to chart their own new battles in love and war. Sequel to Alpha Leonis. Credits to deviantART's KittehKins for the image.
1. CHAPTER 1: THE PROPHET'S CODE

**BETA ORIONIS**

SEQUEL TO ALPHA LEONIS

…

**CHAPTER 1: THE PROPHET'S CODE**

…

_All alone I heal this heart of sorrow_

_All alone I will raise this child_

_Flesh and bone, he's just bursting toward tomorrow_

_And his laughter fills my world_

_And wears your smile_

-'Sand and Water', Beth Nielsen

…

1995

…

"**Y**ou're not going to find a word of truth in there," said Molly Weasley contemptuously, eyeing the copy of _The Daily Prophet_ Sirius Black was browsing.

She put a bowl of scrambled eggs on the table from which Nymphadora Tonks spooned herself a large helping, and then sat herself at the dining table of Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Sirius Black's old family home and the secret headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. Harry Potter, James Potter's orphaned son, had witnessed Lord Voldemort's return to a body of his own only a few months previously at the end of his fourth year at Hogwarts.

Unable to face this truth, however, Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge had convinced himself Harry was a liar, and the rest of the Ministry had followed his lead. It now actively sought to slander the credibility of both Harry and Hogwart's Headmaster Albus Dumbledore, the founder and leader of the Order, and by so doing, helped Lord Voldemort gather strength and followers uncontested in the shadows of the wizarding world. With close ties to the Ministry, _The Daily Prophet _had become a disgusting extension of Fudge's campaign of cover-ups and discrediting.

Remus Lupin looked up over the cover of the book he was reading at the table at Sirius. "If you want any useful truth out of the _Prophet_ these days, you need to pay attention to page three."

"I saw it," Sirius replied, frowning but flipping back toward the front anyway. "Nothing but more on educational reform and a big useless article on a performance at the Muggle-repellant theatre in Wandsworth—"

"Yes, that."

Sirius blinked at his old friend. "What?"

Remus chuckled. "It's coded, Sirius. We have a friend at the _Prophet_. Here." He reached for the paper and Sirius handed it over. Remus picked up a quill from the cluttered table and began glancing at the article, underlining words and letters, and then scribbling on the paper below it. After a few minutes, he handed it back to Sirius, and Sirius inspected Remus' writing at the bottom of the page: _Crick sacked soo__n. M__ail was watched. One Aur missing. Seven disap. Four Dementor attacks. Russer being watched. Umbridge momentum. No update against D__umbledore__._

Sirius mouthed the message and then asked, "Is this how we knew Mary Crick was going to be sacked?"

Remus nodded. "Thanks to the warning she was able to escape questioning."

"She's hiding in safety now with her husband's parents," Molly added.

"There's one Auror missing…seven disappearances…more Dementor attacks… Russer. He being careful, then?"

Remus nodded. Next to him, Tonks randomly choked slightly as some sausage went down the wrong pipe. She coughed and washed it down with orange juice, her eyes watering. Remus patted her gently on the back and she gave him a grateful smile that he looked rather quickly away from.

"Gracious, chew your food, Tonks, dear," Molly clucked from across the room.

"Umbridge…" Sirius muttered, ignoring them. "But what does it mean 'No update against Dumbledore'?"

Remus leaned forward. "She gives us advance warning if she can before the Ministry makes any kind of move against Dumbledore, big or small. Tactile, written, plans for Hogwarts, anything. She knows it's important. That sentence means there's nothing new there."

Sirius nodded, looking impressed. "That's bloody helpful, having someone give us through the _Prophet_ what the _Prophet's_ trying to hide. Who is she?" He looked down to the bottom of the article and saw the attributed name there.

Lenna Albeney.

…

_December, four months later._

"I'm just saying I don't understand what was wrong with him. He was polite. And no receding hairline."

"And wonderful biceps."

"Yeah! So what was it this time?"

"He made me into a nag. I'm not a nag usually. But he would leave his junk around and never seemed to do anything quite right… Plus I didn't like his hands. Could you grab a trolley? The train will be here any minute."

"His hands?" Calun Albeney repeated dubiously, finding a trolley and walking up to the brick wall between Kings Cross Station's platforms nine and ten. He took a quick glance around and pushed it through, seeming to melt into the brick. His younger sister stepped sideways through at the same time, followed by a grayish cat with a peculiar marking on its ear.

"Yes, his hands," she sighed.

"O_kay_, Len," he replied, shrugging and shaking his head. There was no sign of the Hogwarts Express, but families were milling around the station waiting for its impending arrival. Lenna's breath clouded in the chill and she adjusted her scarf more snuggly around her neck as she and Cal found a bench and sat down, pulling the empty trolley up beside them. Cal took a wrapped gift out of the pack around his shoulder and then placed it back, grinning. Lenna rolled her eyes at him as the gray cat leapt up beside her and sat watching passersby.

"I don't think it's going anywhere," she teased.

Cal laughed and sat down next to her, taking his gloves off and stowing them in his small pack. "I've been waiting _months_ to give it to him. He's going to _love_ it."

Lenna grinned at him. "I hope so, after the gold you dished out for it. Grace told me."

Cal made a huffing sound. "Grace's folks are rolling. It wasn't that bad."

They both looked up as they heard the train. It whistled, smoke and mist billowing around, as it pulled into the station and came to a slow halt. The station suddenly became very noisy as parents rushed forward to meet their children coming home for the winter holiday. Owls soared overhead or hooted restlessly in their cages, and cats and rats scurried off the train and around the station. Lenna scratched behind Dinah's ears, glad her pet had never been very inclined to join the throng.

"Where is he?"

"He'll find us," replied Lenna as she and Cal stood up to make spotting them easier. "He's usually in the back middle of the train."

"I don't see him."

"Will you be patient?"

Cal huffed again and scratched at the hair coating his jaw. Cal was losing his hair slowly, though it was still a strong, dark brown. He had a touch more lines on his face than he'd had at twenty, the deepest of them being laugh lines. Keeping busy both at work and at home had kept his paunch in check, and despite the years his belt was acquiring, he never seemed to age much to his younger sister.

"Mum! Mum! Uncle Cal!"

They both beamed as they heard the voice, and then they saw him, coming as fast as a boy pulling his heavy school trunk and owl cage could. He had a fluffy Santa hat on his head that kept changing colors, but his raven hair stuck out from under it. As he always had been, he was tall for his age. "Mum!" he shouted again. They lost sight of him in the crowd for a moment and then he reappeared, a skinny boy getting buffeted by all the people, his blue and bronze scarf flying behind him. Cal had been walking forward toward him and he caught him in a tight hug. He then took over the job of pulling the trunk so the boy could run to his mother.

She had to step back to absorb the impact of the boy-missile. She held him tightly for a moment. "Hi, honey."

"_Mum_!" he exclaimed, stepping back and obviously bursting with news. "Professor Umbridge is out of _control_, Mum! She's such a foul, heinous _toad_—she won't teach us _anything_—we just have to read out of our books all hour and she expects us to pass our exams and Harry Potter tries to stand up to her and she won't have it and Mum can't Professor Dumbledore do something about her? Can't he get rid of her?"

"Breathe, Rigel," Cal chuckled.

"I've told you what she's been doing in letters," he continued, ignoring his uncle for the moment, "but I don't understand how no one seems to be able to _do_ anything—"

"I've told you, Ri," Lenna said as they slowly moved toward the platform exit, "Umbridge has the full backing of the Ministry. If Dumbledore openly opposes her, the Ministry will have the excuse they want to not only take him out of Hogwarts, but probably imprison him as well. He needs to stay to help the students." She lowered her voice. "And the Order."

Rigel threw his hands up, exasperated, and his fluffy hat was pushed askew. "Why is our Ministry so corrupt? Why are we allowing it? We need new people in charge. This is—it's absurd! A government is put in place to protect its people, not work against it, and if it stops fulfilling that position, it's to be ousted!"

"That's very Lockean of you, darling." She righted his hat, trying to keep a giggle back because she didn't want to offend him. "Listen to me. We just have to trust Dumbledore. He knows what's best to do. Everyone is doing all they can. We can't just organize some sort of coup. The confusion of that would give You-Know-Who an opportunity for his first strike. We have to deal with the idiocy of the Ministry for now."

"But that's not to say you shouldn't cause trouble for the hag," added Cal brightly. Rigel grinned and his mother rolled her eyes.

"I stick up for Harry and Professor Dumbledore whenever I can," Rigel told them. "But not many people in Ravenclaw believe him. And, y'know, I can't tell them why I _do_ and about the Order of course… Luna Lovegood believes Harry, but no one takes her seriously. And I've been learning all the stuff we read about in class on my own because Umbridge doesn't allow us to use wands in class. I couldn't get this one deterrent spell right and Professor McGonagall helped. She hates Umbridge as much as anyone…hey Dinah." He picked up the cat and cuddled her to his chest.

"Your mother dumped Dan," Cal informed him without ceremony.

Rigel looked unsurprised as he glanced up at Lenna. He nodded a bit, looking away, and stated, "He was messy and had fingers that weren't uniform in width."

"Exactly!" Lenna exclaimed. "They were thick at the beginning and got smaller around at the ends! Like little triangles. It freaked me out."

Cal stared at them both, looking dumbstruck.

"Mum's big on hands," Rigel explained stoically.

"You are the weirdest two people in all of London, you know that?" Cal said, shaking his head like he couldn't believe it. "_Uniform width fingers_—what the bloody hell. You're just making up excuses now, Lenna. That's what I think."

His sister stuck out her tongue at him.

"Rigel, tell your mother she needs a man," said Cal.

"Mum, you need the right man."

"Thank you, darling."

Cal rolled his eyes. Rigel started to haul his trunk off the trolley, but Cal stopped him for a moment. "Wait wait wait." He reached into his pack and then tossed the gift at his nephew. Rigel caught it with good reflexes.

"Whoa! Hey thanks, Uncle Cal. What is it?"

"Open it up, kid." He was grinning.

Rigel tore off the wrapping and his mouth dropped open into a soft O. He was holding a small, dark wooden box with old-looking coastal designs of fish and the sea carved on it. It was intricate and looked to have many ways of opening. "Uncle Cal, is _this_…?"

"What we found at that old antique shop in Ireland last summer? Yep!"

Rigel leapt forward and threw his arms around his tall uncle. "_Thank you, Uncle Cal_!" His face was alight when he stepped back, holding the old box. "Merlin, it's so…" He looked up at his uncle. "Wait. This cost so much money when we asked—you shouldn't have—"

"You let me worry about that, chief," Cal retorted, ruffling his nephew's hat. "Grandma and Grandpa Worthington helped pay too, so remember to send them a thank-you owl."

"I will." He gazed back down at the seemingly-innocuous box. "I will. It's so _brilliant_! Mum, d'you realize how much I can _put_ in this? I can put in my quills and ink and letters and _so much_—maybe even my entire _trunk_… The _magic_ that went into this, Mum, I mean it's _really_—handmade, one of a kind, the man said…"

Lenna laughed and Rigel continued to praise his gift the entire walk back to the car.


	2. CHAPTER 2: PARLIAMENT OF OWLS

**CHAPTER 2: A PARLIAMENT OF OWLS**

…

"I don't care how poor a man, is; if he has family, he's rich."

-Dan Wilcox and Thad Mumford, M-A-S-H

…

"**D**on't expect to get the rest of your presents early. Your uncle is an outlier."

Rigel laughed.

"By the way." Lenna turned in the passenger seat to look back at her teenage son. "Any progress at all with Holly?"

Rigel shook his head, looking suddenly morose. "Not really… I took all your advice when I could—I complimented her whenever I got the chance, and—I don't know. I chickened out of asking her if she wanted to practice Defense with me—I didn't know how to say it without sounding like an idiot."

"Hold on, who's this Holly?" Cal demanded.

Rigel grimaced as his uncle shot an expectant gaze at him in the rearview mirror. "Holly Pollux. She's in my year, Ravenclaw, and she's…I like her a lot." He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, but the movement was stiff.

"Her last name is Pollux?" his mom asked quietly. He glanced at her, his intuitive eyes tracing over the distant expression on her face. There was a tightness around her eyes that she always got when remembering something from before he was born. Something about his dad.

"Do you know the name?" Cal asked, taking a right and not really paying attention to her.

Lenna glanced at Rigel and then shook her head slightly. "Nothing important."

Rigel could tell that was a little lie; he knew her too well. But he didn't push it. He almost never did when it concerned his dad. He'd seen tears well out of nowhere in her eyes too often.

"So, tell me about this." Cal had always been an endearingly nosy uncle. "When did you start liking her? What's she like?"

Rigel smiled a little. "First thing I ever noticed about her were her eyes. She has perfect eyes. Literally. Bright blue and perfect. We were in the same boat first year and stood next to each other before sorting, but we were both too nervous about everything to say a word. And we both got put into Ravenclaw and sat next to each other that night at dinner. We talked a little. I don't remember what we said.

"She's shy. We made different friends later, but we have all our classes together. She's really smart. Intimidatingly so… But it's like she's embarrassed about it. And she's very kind. Everyone likes her because she's pretty, so she could have been friends with anyone, but she gravitated toward the less popular people. And no one's really friends with Luna because she's so odd, but Holly asks people not to make fun. Terry Boot's a fifth year, and he likes her, but she hasn't taken him up on anything… Both our dads are dead too."

Rigel glanced at his mom but couldn't tell much as she was looking out the side front window. Cal also glanced at Lenna for a moment.

"Well, she seems like a good girl and you sound like you like her a lot," he said. There was a hint of pride in his voice. Rigel had always been a forthcoming and honest boy; his willingness to share his feelings and thoughts with his family spoke to his closeness to both his mother and uncle.

Rigel nodded. "Yeah…I still don't talk to her enough."

"Confidence, Ri," Lenna replied. "Showing you care for a girl is a win-win thing. They'll be flattered and think higher of you no matter who you are—trust me on this."

"I know. I still wanna try out for Chaser next year."

"You're popular enough without being a Quidditch hunk," she replied, grinning. "Not that it's a bad thing. I'm just saying. But you look too skinny these days—don't they feed you at school?"

"I'm growing an inch every few months, Mum, I swear. I eat _truckloads_. Just let me at Aunt Grace's cooking and you'll see."

Cal and Lenna were laughing at that as they pulled into the small parking lot beside Lenna's apartment complex. Hauling the trunk out of the car, Cal glanced around and then tapped it once with his wand to make it magically lighter. Then the three off them went up to her apartment.

"You got a tree and everything already, didn't you?" Rigel asked as they climbed the very familiar stairs.

"Hon, we've had to get a Christmas tree without you these last four years. Your break starts too late for you to come with us," Lenna replied gently. Finding a Christmas tree and decorating it was one of Rigel's favorite things, and it upset him a little every year he couldn't do so because of school. His favorite ornament was an ornament that his father Regulus had given Lenna the year he had died; it had a photograph in it of him and her kissing in the snow and then breaking apart to laugh. Lenna had caught her son on more than one Christmas sitting in front of the tree with it in his lap, gazing at his father and mother on the only Christmas they ever really got together.

"Oh," Cal said as they reached the hall and Lenna murmured charms to allow them through protective enchantments. "By the way, there are some people pretty excited you're back home." He was smirking, and as Lenna unlocked the door, Rigel started grinning.

"Are they here?" he asked.

His question was answered as his mom swung open the door and there were gleeful shouts. Rigel ran into the room and started hugging everyone. His Aunt Grace and Grandma Marisa were there and his three cousins, eleven year-old Erin, nine year-old Connie, and six year-old little Walter. Cal brought Rigel's trunk and owl inside and then turned to his daughter as Connie yelled "Daddy!"

Erin was already back on holiday break from her first year at a private school of magic near her grandparents' home in Ireland. Though Cal was fond of Hogwarts, he had agreed with Grace that with all the Ministry turmoil, and especially with some recent Hogwarts teachers being so undesirable, a different school was a fitting choice for their kids. Plus they would attend it with their other cousins, Grace's sisters' children.

The apartment was still the same one Lenna had begun to rent many years ago when she had just gotten out of school. Besides Hogwarts, it was the only other place that held memories of Rigel's father, and so she couldn't bear to part from it. But unbeknownst to her Muggle landlord, Lenna had made dozens of magical changes to the place, turning it into her and her son's dream home. Its only flaw was not having any sort of yard, but Rigel could always go to his Aunt and Uncle's or the nearby park if he wanted to run around. The place was very cozy and the rooms were enlarged magically—making the place much bigger than its counterparts in the rest of the complex. Because Lenna's _Daily Prophet_ job paid so well also, the place was furnished and decorated comfortably. The place opened to the main living room with a smattering of comfy couches, chairs, a coffee table, an entertainment center, and an old record player. The patterns on the shades of the warm lamps changed every so often and the people in the framed photograph collections on the walls moved. The tall, light-green plant in the corner shifted its position in its pot every hour or so, making a soft rustling sound.

There was a glass cabinet against the far wall with some of his mother's precious possessions or knick-knack keepsakes from years past, some of them motley creations from art classes when Rigel was in primary school. Paintings and hangings decorated the walls: all in a winter theme according to the current season. The hallways were lined with photographs, and Lenna had magically added a room for a study; its walls were lined with shelves of books. That was one of Rigel's favorite rooms. His favorite room was probably his mother's bedroom. He liked his own room, and had decorated it as he wanted, but his mother's bedroom had a vintage, peaceful elegance to it. She had white bookshelves in the wall and a vase of white and pink flowers on her bedside table and vanity desk. The lighting was soft and the room always smelled like her.

There was a full expanded kitchen as well, in which Grace had cooked up an early dinner for everyone before the three had arrived. Rigel and Erin were catching one another up on their last semester as everyone gathered at the table. Dinah hopped onto the nearby couch to watch, and Sir Gawain, Rigel's owl, hooted from inside his carrying cage where Cal had placed it on top of the coffee table.

Walter climbed onto Calun's lap as Lenna helped Grace serve chicken tenders and brown rice.

"Where's Dad, Mum?" she asked Marisa. "Working?"

Marisa nodded distractedly; she watched her granddaughter Connie reach across her plate for the salt and swatted her hand impatiently. "Manners, child. We ask to be passed things, we don't reach."

"Sorry, Grandma."

"Look, Walter," Rigel said, passing his little cousin his new gift across the busy table after he had finished showing Erin. Walter took it, interested though he couldn't see the inherent excitement in a simple wooden box. He idolized his big cousin and anything Rigel thought was cool must certainly be so.

"What's it do?" His six year-old fingers tried to prize it open in some way but it didn't budge. Erin giggled but Rigel explained, "I'm going to have to spend more time with it to figure out everything it can do and all its compartments. But it can hold pretty much _anything_, Walter. You could organize the tiniest of collections perfectly inside of it or cram in an entire elephant probably. It has a zillion special ways of locking and unlocking, some password activated, some you have to push in certain slots, some open and close by spells and charms—it's a great place to keep stuff. If I figure it all out by next year, I might not even need to bring a trunk to school! Just that little box!"

Walter had managed to get one compartment open. It didn't look like anything special to him and he replied doubtfully, "I don't think an elephant would fit."

Rigel laughed and took it as his little cousin handed it back. Then he forked some more chicken fingers onto his plate. The handsome Christmas tree glittered in the living room, lending a pine scent to the apartment, and wreaths and other decorations made the place wonderfully festive. Lenna looked around in happiness. Christmas was her favorite time of year, and almost her entire family was here with her. She always missed Rigel terribly when he was away at school and looked forward to his breaks probably more than he did. The apartment was too quiet without him. Keeping herself busy helped, though, as did spending much of her time with Grace and Cal helping them with their kids.

They were onto brownies and ice cream for dessert when there came a rapping at the kitchen window that Lenna knew well. She got up to open it and let Tori, her small but speedy little gray owl, into the house along with a flurry of wind-blown snow. Tori alighted on the counter top and chirped pleasantly as Lenna untied the letter. It looked mundanely work-related, so Lenna simply placed it in the shallow, silver wire mail bowl on the counter. She was just about to turn back toward the table when she saw another owl flying toward the window. Bemused, she pushed it open again and the handsome tawny owl soared right into her kitchen and sat itself on top of her toaster. It proceeded to stick its leg out in an imperial manner. As she was removing its letter, another owl flapped rather ungainly into the kitchen and found itself on the tile floor: this owl she recognized—she belonged to her colleague and friend at work, Janet.

Everyone at the table had stopped talking to stare at the birds. Cal laughed as a fourth owl—darker than the tawny but similarly handsome and the same size soared in and left scratches on the countertop as it landed. It too stuck out its leg, looking self-important.

"Daddy," Connie inquired, watching the commotion. "What's a group of owls called?"

"Um." Cal scrunched up his face in thought. "I don't know." He looked at his bookworm nephew who had a knack for knowing miscellaneous facts. But Rigel shrugged, drawing a blank too.

"A parliament," Grace answered him. Marisa nodded in confirmation.

Lenna had opened the first from the tawny. It was dated a few days ago. She scanned to the bottom to see who it was from and sucked in a breath when she saw the loopy signature: _Albus Dumbledore._

Ignoring the other owls and her curious family, Lenna read the contents quickly. There was no urgency in the letter, only a polite and friendly offer to add protection to her home from the inherent dangers of being a secret informer for the Order. Her nerves somewhat calmed, she opened the letter from Janet. It was hastily scrawled and the contents of it caused worry lines to appear between her eyebrows.

_There was an attack on a Weasley in the Ministry very early this morning. He was whisked out to St. Mungo's. Very dodgy; no one can get any answers about it. _

_Stay safe,_

_Janet_

She and Janet had discussed the Order in private—Janet would understand what this meant to Lenna. An Order member was attacked—if they had been tortured for information, Lenna's name could very easily have come out.

Finally she relieved the darker-colored owl of its letter—it looked quite the same as the earlier one from Dumbledore—and no wonder, because when she looked to the bottom, there was the headmaster's signature again.

_Miss Albeney, _

_In lieu of recent events, particularly an attack on a friend of mine you may or may not have heard about, I think it would be wise to see to your safety sooner than I had intended. Could we meet in Hogsmeade after Christmas? Or even before if you would like. Details then. _

_The best, _

_Albus Dumbledore_

The tawny had left through the window, but the darker one remained. On the back of Dumbledore's letter, Lenna replied, _I had heard about it. Would eleven in the morning on the 26__th__ work for you? Thank you. Lenna._ She tied it to the owl's leg and it too left the kitchen. Lenna scribbled a reply for Janet in much the same way and then poured a bowl of water for Janet's owl to drink from before it took off again.

She returned to the table; conversation had begun again but everyone watched her expectantly when she sat back down. She looked at Cal.

"Dumbledore wants to give this place his protection as well. I don't think it's quite as no-holds-barred as getting inducted into the Order, but it still ties me to them further. And to be able to place his protections, I would have to let him in on the Fidelius Charm. The more people who know, the weaker that magic becomes, and we already have so many… What do you think I should do?"

Cal took a moment to think, chewing on a bite of brownie. Then he said, "Len, you believe in the cause. You trust the people. Dumbledore is the _strongest_ force against You-Know-Who that the world's got. If you can't trust him, you can't trust anyone. I'd say you should welcome his protection."

Lenna nodded, agreeing but still thinking. Cal looked across the table at her son.

"But that doesn't mean you have to, sis. If you would feel safer without spreading out the charm's magic further, that's understandable. I know you'd be willing to risk your life for the Order's cause. But not willing to risk Rigel's."

Lenna looked sharply at him. Those had been exactly her thoughts, but she didn't appreciate him voicing them in front of everyone—especially the kids. Grace seemed to be of the same opinion: she too had shot him a look.

Rigel, however, was keen on the conversation, pleased not to be excluded. "Those aren't the questions to ask, Uncle Cal," he argued. "What's being debated is whether or not we can trust Albus Dumbledore with the secret of the location of our home. He's not the Secret Keeper, so he can't tell anyone else, and I don't think there's a safer person we could trust the secret to. I mean, every single one of us are a bigger threat to each other than Professor Dumbledore could ever be to us. He's the only person in the world You-Know-Who fears. That certainly can't be said about any of _us_. No one could get to us through Dumbledore. It's absurd to think so. It's far more likely Mum's name will drop from someone else in the Order who knows of the _Prophet_ code and when that happens, we'll need all the protection we can get." He sat back in his seat, his arms crossed. Lenna almost smiled. Rigel loved to debate; logic came easily to his head.

Cal nodded, then smiled. "That's how I see it too, sport. But never underestimate the zealotry of your mum's desire to protect your snotty head."

Rigel snorted with laughter and Lenna shot her older brother a withering look.

"I am _not_ so illogical as you paint me, you goat," Lenna shot with the hint of a smile at Cal. "I think you're both perfectly right and I've already agreed to meet with him in Hogsmeade after Christmas."

"Can I come, Mum?"

"No, Rigel."

"Ri, could you pass the brownies?"

"I'm going to close that window; there's snow flying in all over the kitchen."

"So what're you hoping to get for Christmas, Connie?"

"Walter, don't hold Dinah like that, you know she doesn't—"

"Aunt Lenna, can I let Mister Sir Gawain out?"

"Is there any ice cream left, Grace?"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Walt…"

"Erin, help your mum and I clear the table?"

Lenna's niece hopped out of her seat, took some plates of the empty table, and brought then into the kitchen to her aunt. Grandma Marisa was smoothing Dinah's ruffled fur and Cal and the kids were running about the living room, accompanied by a loud and flapping Sir Gawain.

"It's so nice to have everyone home," Grace giggled. Lenna threw her head back and laughed.


	3. CHAPTER 3: FAMILY TIES

**CHAPTER 3: FAMILY TIES**

…

"In the light of Voldemort's return, we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided. Lord Voldemort's gift for spreading discord and enmity is very great. We can fight it only by showing an equally strong bond of friendship and trust."  
>-Albus Dumbledore<p>

…

"**R**igel, d'you know where my purse—_oh for heaven's sake_!"

The small model of a Viking ship Rigel had gotten from Grace's parents for Christmas had, floating through the air as if on the sea, snuck up on Lenna from behind an armchair and begun to fire small cannonballs at her as she searched for the purse she was constantly misplacing.

"That's the _sixth_ time since you opened that bloody thing! Dinah's hiding under the cabinet! It shouldn't even _have_ cannonballs—gunpowder wasn't even _invented_ in the time of the Vikings. If it singed a hole in my good skirt, Ri, so help me god…" Lenna was whipping her head around looking for her wand. She snatched it from beside a lamp, but before she could do anything murderous to one of Rigel's favorite Christmas presents, her son darted in front of the airborne ship, shielding it. Its wooden Dragon's head poked him in the back impatiently.

"Mum, don't! I'll put it anyway, I promise! I think your purse is by the stove."

"Why is it by the stove?" She turned and went into the kitchen. "I'm going to be late meeting Dumbledore…"

Rigel blinked, grabbing the ship floating behind him and holding it against his side so it wouldn't start after his harried mother again. "Right, that's today! Mum, can't I come? I've never spoken to the Headmaster one-on-one—"

"No, Ri," she sighed, "this is just him and me, but I think he's going to have to come here, so if you want to come outside and talk to him for a tiny bit in the hall, you can. But don't interfere while he's working and trying to set up the protections."

"I won't!" He looked very excited. "I'll make tea and cake!"

"Please put that ship away so our cat can have some peace. And fertilize the arctus mandibus, would you—it's been a bit restless."

"I will! Don't forget your scarf, Mum!"

"Oh—thank you. _Accio scarf_!"

She caught it, wrapped it once around her neck, and then closed the apartment door behind her. After a breath, she turned on the spot and with a _pop_ appeared in the middle of a snowy Diagon Alley. She checked her wristwatch, huffed, and set off at a smart pace toward Honeydukes. She hated being late—especially if it meant keeping someone important waiting.

Albus Dumbledore was chatting up the owner of Honeydukes merrily, a small bag of chocolate-covered peppermints tied with a red ribbon in his hand which he had purchased. Lenna came up beside him and he beamed at her.

"Sorry I'm a little late, Professor."

"Not at all," he replied. "Shall we?" He opened the crowded shop door for her and they went out into the street. They talked for a little while as they walked and then without further ado, Lenna held out her arm for the old wizard to take. He took it and she Apparated them both into the hallway of her apartment.

"I live here," she said softly, "at 203 Branburn Hills, Dewey Street."

Dumbledore's eyes found the door that appeared to his eyes as she shared the information with him. Dumbledore nodded. He had already told her what extra magical protections he was going to place on her home: most of which she had never heard of before, some even being of Dumbledore's own invention. It took a number of minutes. Dumbledore's steady voice weaved magic through the air and a couple times Lenna saw the door of her apartment glow a soft purple or orange.

Finally Albus Dumbledore lowered his wand. "There," he said contentedly. "Your home is as safe now as any with associations to the Order. I must warn, you, however, than many of these protections run through the power of the Ministry, and if that should fall and come to be in Lord Voldemort's hands, much of this protection would be weakened."

Lenna nodded. He had mentioned that already.

"Are you finished, Professor?" came Rigel's voice from the other side of the door. Lenna rolled her eyes. She had a suspicion he had been waiting that entire time, listening for Dumbledore to be done with his work.

Dumbledore looked pleasantly surprised. "I am, my dear boy," he answered.

Rigel threw open the door. "Brilliant! You're welcome to come in, Professor—I made some cake, and I don't know what kind of tea you like, but I can make that too, and you have _got_ to see what my uncle and I found in an antique shop in Ireland, sir—maybe you could even help me figure it out a little, there's this one corner that I—"

Lenna's face had gone pale, and she said quickly, "Rigel, I don't know if we should—"

But it was too late. Dumbledore had already been ushered into the apartment by her admiring son. _Maybe he won't notice_, she thought to herself. _Oh, don't look at the walls…_

"I would love to have some tea and cake, Rigel. That is, if your mother doesn't mind." He had obviously caught Lenna's sudden hesitation.

She smiled, but the smile was tight. "Of course, Professor, it would be a pleasure. Rigel is bursting to show off his new presents…"

Dumbledore beamed around at the quaint scene. The tree was still glorious, and a number of newly-opened gifts still cluttered the living room in front of it. On the kitchen table was a tray of cookies and candies, and Dinah had come up to the three of them, curious, and was mewing in hello.

He took the small bag of peppermints out of his pocket and handed it to Rigel.

"These are for you and your mother," he said genially.

"Thank you, Professor," replied Rigel, excepting the gift happily. "I'll go get the cake."

After a minute he came back out of the kitchen with a plate of coffee cake, little plates, and a couple forks, all of which he set on the cluttered coffee table. Seeming perfectly at home already, Dumbledore sat himself at a couch and took Rigel's offered piece with a twinkle-eyed smile. Smiling a little at the oddity of having tea with her son and the headmaster at their little table, Lenna asked what tea Dumbledore preferred and then went into the kitchen to make it.

When she came back out, Dumbledore and Rigel were both laughing uproariously over a puzzle and joke board Rigel's Grandpa Walter had made for him.

"Isn't it brilliant?" Rigel laughed.

Lenna rolled her eyes. "The family couldn't get enough of that yesterday morning," she chuckled. "It had the kids going for hours."

"My dear boy, that is delightful—I should love to meet your grandfather!" Dumbledore exclaimed. He accepted the offered mug of tea from Lenna, wiping a tear of mirth from his eye. "Thank you, my dear."

"He and my Uncle Cal are both really good at making stuff," said Rigel, also taking a cup. "Thanks, Mum. See all that wood-working on the shelf there? My Uncle Cal made it all. My favorite is the Inferius with the clown wig, juggling. An Inferius is the form my boggart takes, you see, sir, and Uncle Cal helped me figure out how to help me keep in my head that they're just puppets, not really…" He trailed off, seeing the headmaster didn't appear to be listening. Dumbledore's eyes had found the photograph above the nearby shelf Rigel had mentioned. It was a large, handsome, moving photograph of his mother and father at their small wedding reception.

Rigel glanced over at his mom in the sudden quiet. She had gone quite white again and very still. He realized this had been what she had wanted to avoid—why she hadn't wanted the Professor coming inside the apartment.

Lenna watched as Dumbledore's eyes slid from the photograph to Rigel sitting beside him. She knew what he would be seeing. The raven hair, the granite gray eyes that were exact copies of his father's. His lean build, his jaw, his eyebrows, even his ears… Shock colored the Headmaster's expression. He looked at Lenna. After a moment, he took a sip of tea. She looked back at him, looking defiant.

"Regulus Black had a family in secret," Dumbledore stated quietly then, gazing steadily at Lenna. Not unkindly, but steadily.

"No one can know, Dumbledore." She had never called her old headmaster by his name before. It sounded too impertinent, even in the moment. But steel had shot down her spine. This was a secret she had guarded for years and years, and she would not have it betrayed—not even by Albus Dumbledore. It was a mistake for him to have found out…

Rigel looked defiant as well, though for different reasons. He was looking at his mother with knitted brows. "Mum, why can't Professor Dumbledore know who my father is? We're trusting him with our lives, we can trust him with the rest of it too."

Lenna shook her head stiffly once. _Be quiet_, said the motion.

Usually an obedient boy, Rigel was offended. His heart was bursting with an emotion he couldn't identify. Desire to include his admired Headmaster in their family secret. Desire to talk about his father. Desire to be recognized as his father's son by more than just his relatives.

"I'm proud to be his son, Mum!" he burst out. "I'm _proud_ and I don't want to keep the truth away from the people we trust."

Lenna looked away from him. Her eyes were tight. She didn't say anything. Dumbledore stepped in.

"Rigel, your mother has protected you your entire life by keeping who you are a secret. I'm sure it frightens her to see something she held so tightly to for safety slip a little. You know—I'm sure you know—that if anyone who was not your friend got a hold of your identity, it would put both of you in more danger."

"We're already in danger, sir. Mum passes information to the Order. I reckon that's more offensive to his Death Eaters than knowing one of their own had a son no one knew about."

Dumbledore smiled a little despite himself at this argument, but continued, "Your father stopped wanting to be a Death Eater and was put to death for it. Voldemort's supporters won't look kindly on any son of Regulus Black's. It does help that that was a long time ago. But unlike his more forgetful followers, Lord Voldemort's memory is very good."

Rigel didn't correct Dumbledore's belief in how and why Regulus Black had died; that was a secret so sacred to his mother he knew not to dare revealing it.

"I don't really care about the danger," Rigel replied. "I'm getting old enough now. I'm only a year below Harry Potter! I want to help the Order. I want to help right the moronic Ministry. I want to be in there and help fight."

It was a passionate little speech and had sparked tears in his mother's eyes that she tried to hide. As she brushed them away, Dumbledore, politely appearing not to notice, said, "Remember, Rigel, that the most important thing until you're seventeen is what your mother thinks is right to do. It's up to her which pathway she feels is less dangerous. Please respect that. However." He glanced at Lenna. "Your family ties change some things. At its core, the Order is built upon family. We protect each other. And, if your mother deems it the correct mode of action for the two of you, the Order would welcome you both. You have an uncle, Rigel, who deserves to know you exist."

Lenna twitched involuntarily, and Rigel, who had been listening raptly, eyes shining, suddenly looked quite confused.

"But, Professor. If you mean Sirius Black—isn't he a servant of You-Know-Who? I mean, my father's entire family… Sirius gave up the Potters to You-Know-Who. He's on the run after trying to _kill_ Harry. I don't _want_ him to know me, sir."

Lenna closed her eyes. She had never told her son about a night only a few months after he had been born that she had gone after the truth within the walls of Azkaban Prison. Having known James and Sirius, having seen their friendship, their loyalty and affection for one another, having seen the goodness in Sirius, she had not been able to believe—though all evidence pointed to it—that Sirius Black had indeed been responsible for their friends' murder.

It had been only a couple months after The Boy Who Lived had become famous for destroying the Dark Lord, months after Sirius had been sentenced. She had not been able to come earlier because of her pregnancy.

_The hooded Dementor guided her to a cell down a dark, cold stone hall and left her. She peered in through the bars, not getting too close, but trying to see the man bunched in the corner. As the Dementor receded, the lights grew brighter and then she could see him. _

_Already he looked ten years older than when she had seen him last. His haunted eyes flickered over toward her and widened slightly in surprise. Of course he wouldn't expect her… He knew nothing of what had been between her and his brother. Had no idea he had a nephew and that the little one currently slept soundly in Lenna's brother's care. And he was not to be given such information. Ever. Baby boys did not seem to fare well if this man knew them. _

"_Sirius?" Her voice sounded strange. She cleared her throat. "Sirius, I…" She rallied her guts. "I knew you. I saw how you were with James and Lily and—and I find it too difficult to believe that you would help You-Know-Who murder them… No matter what they say the evidence is. Papers can get things wrong, I know that __better than most__. You're going to rot in here for their murder no matter what you say to me. I just want the truth. The truth, Sirius."_

_There were silent tears on the man's cheeks__. Lenna had never seen him cry before. She wasn't really at all close to the young man. He suddenly stood and walked calmly over to her; she stepped back warily so that he could not reach through the bars and hurt her. _

_He gazed at her face. He looked so similar to Regulus even then that it made her breath shallower. _

"_Funny," he said darkly, "that the people who would believe me are people who don't really matter."_

_Lenna was offended, but didn't let it show. She shouldn't let it matter, what he thought of her. He wouldn't be in her life. _

"_Your friends would believe you if it was the truth. They should know you better than me."_

"_You'd think."_

"_I knew your brother, Sirius, and I knew you—from a distance. Give me the truth. You haven't defended yourself, you haven't offered any kind of alibi or explanation. Why? If I don't matter so much, what would it matter telling me?"_

_Sirius shrugged. "This is the story I've got. Whether you believe it or not won't matter, just like you said. I was Lily and James' Secret Keeper. I convinced them to switch to Peter at the last minute, not because I was scared, but because I thought it would be the perfect ruse. I had no idea that Peter couldn't be trusted. He fooled us all. He sold them to Voldemort. And when I cornered him about it, he blew up the street and escaped."_

"_They found pieces of him, Sirius."_

"_They found a finger. One finger. He cut it off; I watched him do it."_

_Lenna didn't know if she believed him or not. She didn't quite buy his story. It was full of such small details that twisted things… But she didn't quite believe he would ever have hurt Lily and James, either. So where did that leave her? _

_Not caring what he thought, or if he had wanted to know whether or not she believed him, Lenna turned and left without another word. He had given her what he was going to. She didn't know what to make of it. But she did know she would never let the ambiguous, imprisoned man near her son. _

Dumbledore was shaking his head as Lenna blinked, her mind returning to the present. "Yes, Rigel," he said, "that is the story the wizarding world knows. But it is all a lie. Peter Pettigrew, also a friend of Lily and James Potter, was the person who betrayed them to Voldemort. Sirius was framed for it and went to Azkaban for twelve long years. He broke out because he learned Pettigrew was at Hogwarts, in a position to hurt his godson, Harry Potter. Peter is an Animagus who can transform himself into a rat and was hiding as Harry's friend Ron's pet. When Sirius broke out two years ago, he confronted Pettigrew, but Pettigrew escaped from him and has since been serving at Lord Voldemort's right hand, helping him return to a body. Sirius, meanwhile, has been technically at large, living under the protection of the Order. Your uncle Sirius is innocent, Rigel. And a decent man, at that, though a little worse for the wear after twelve years in prison."

Rigel's mouth was hanging open slightly as he gazed at Dumbledore. But Dumbledore was looking at Lenna. "You mother," he commented mildly, "doesn't seem very surprised by this news."

Rigel's gaze fixed on his mom. "You _knew_?"

She shook her head slowly. In a low voice she replied, "I went to see Sirius in Azkaban a few months after you were born. I had a difficult time believing he would ever betray James. The two were so close… He told me the truth. But I didn't think I could trust him. I wasn't sure either way. But he was frightening and a bit crazed. I didn't think he deserved to know anything about you. Especially considering it could put you in danger."

Rigel seemed placated. He knew how she was about his safety. "But he's innocent, Mum. He should know about me. He's Dad's brother. I want to know him."

Lenna looked at him for a long moment. "I do too."

His expression lifted suddenly. He positively glowed with excitement. "_Really_?"

Lenna shrugged. The movement was stiff, keying Rigel in on the fact that this decision was not as easy for her as she was making it seem. "You're getting older and now some things are out in the open. I admit it's probably time for us to stop dipping our toes in the fight at the outskirts and start giving all we've got. That's what your dad did. He'd be proud to see your willingness to do so too."

Rigel was staring at her with an undecipherable expression. Gratitude, tenacity, excitement…love.

"Uncle Cal and I have been talking about it for a while," he admitted.

Lenna scowled. "Of course… That man…"

"But he wouldn't let me do anything without your permission while I was still underage."

"Good."

"But Mum, are we joining? Are we going to be part of it?"

Lenna sat back in her seat; her expression was a grimace. "…Yes."

Rigel let out a whoop.

"This is going to put our whole family in danger, you know that, Rigel," Lenna hissed, reality-checking his happiness. "Members of the Order get attacked, tortured, picked off. It's probably the _least_ safe thing we could _possibly_—"

"But it's the _right_ thing," he interrupted firmly. "It is, Mum. It'll be okay." He looked to Dumbledore. "When can I meet Sirius, sir?"

"Well, now, I've been thinking," he answered gently. Lenna was grateful for his slow, measured voice. She was feeling overwhelmed. "I wonder if you and your mother would mind spending this last bit of break with the Order at headquarters."

Rigel looked about ready to bust. "_Yes please, sir_!"

Dumbledore, however, looked to Lenna.

Her face was mashed into a grimace again. However, her eyes were resigned. "I suppose to do the thing properly we should get to know everyone."

Rigel contained his enthusiasm only because of the expression on his mother's face.

"We'll tell Cal what we're doing, but he's not coming," Lenna added stoutly. Rigel nodded, expecting this.

"He needs to stay with Aunt Grace and the kids," he agreed.

Lenna looked like she had more to add to that, but kept it in. "Shall we pack, then?" she said to Dumbledore. "I assume you're the only person that can get us there."

Dumbledore nodded. "I am."

"Get your stuff together, Ri."

Needing no more permission than that, Rigel leapt off the couch and ran to his bedroom to pack a trunk.


	4. CHAPTER 4: GODSON AND NEPHEW

**CHAPTER 4: GODSON AND NEPHEW**

…

"She's got the measure of Crouch better than you have, Ron. If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."

-Sirius Black

…

**A**lbus Dumbledore considered himself to be a rather good judge of character. Having known former students who were now grown adults since they were eleven certainly assisted in that. He knew some of the Order's other members would be surprised that he would trust these new people—indeed, this entire new family—so quickly and implicitly. But Albus had known Regulus Black as a child; he had witnessed in him both the good and the bad, though, he was sure, never the full extent of both sides. He had also watched Lenna grow, and knew her to be an intelligent and kind woman; strong, good-natured, very moral. He had not witnessed her and Regulus' romance, but knew the power of secret and forbidden love. The fact that Regulus had married and had a family with her in secret attested to the strength as well as the stubbornness of that love. Lenna was not the type of woman to be happy about being with a Death Eater. And surely they both had known the dangers of that life.

He had also seen Rigel grow these past four years, though without any idea of his heritage. The boy was clever, though not arrogant—a wonderful thing in a person—and possessed an indefatigable energy that was endearing and at times infectious. He had the mark of being well-loved in his openness and readiness to care about others. There was no doubt in Albus Dumbledore's mind that the both of them, mother and son, were good people, and that their inclusion in the Order would not be any more of a liability than any other member's inclusion.

Luggage in tow, Rigel and his mother watched in surprise as Dumbledore showed them the entrance to headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

"There are a few things you should know," he told them as they watched Number Twelve materialize, pushing the handsome Muggle homes on either side of it to the right and left. "Firstly, Rigel, this house is the old house of you grandparents on your father's side, Orion and Walburga Black. Your father and his brother Sirius grew up here."

Rigel's eyes had, if possible, gotten even bigger.

"Sirius, as their oldest living descendent, is the owner of the house, and has offered it for use as headquarters. It has not been used in a very long time, however, so making it hospitable to live in has been somewhat of a challenge. There is plenty of space in it, however." They walked up the steps. "Secondly, you should know that Arthur Weasley was attacked in the Ministry at the beginning of the holiday and is making a full recovery in St. Mungo's currently.

"Thirdly, and this is a tad delicate; Harry Potter is Sirius' godson, and Harry has a special father-son bond with him. A bond he dearly values. Now that Sirius will learn he has a blood nephew, Harry may feel encroached upon. It's perfectly natural considering Sirius is the only parent figure he has, and I would ask you, Rigel, to remember that you have a mother and an uncle and aunts, and to be respectful that Harry may not be inclined to share his only parent."

Rigel was nodding. "I understand, Professor."

Dumbledore nodded graciously and opened the front door and led the two inside. They stared around at the rather dark and dank entryway. The Christmas decorations flung about did little to hide the dereliction.

"You right, it does need work," commented Lenna with a bit of distaste.

Dumbledore nodded. "Also, do be quiet in this front entryway." His voice dropped further. "That curtain-covered portrait over there is a very ill-tempered portrait of Walburga. She'll start screaming at you if you get too loud. Ah, here comes Molly."

A plump, red-headed woman was making her way toward the three of them, waving her hand for them to come further in the house.

"I got your Patronus," she whispered, directing her words at Dumbledore. "The kids are upstairs." She looked at Lenna and Rigel and seemed to size them up for a moment. "You can leave your trunks and things just there," she said, "and bring them up in a bit. Albus can't stay long so you should come in and have introductions."

They followed the woman, Dumbledore bringing up the rear of the party. She led them into a dining room of sorts where a number of people were sitting at the table or in chairs nearby, chatting.

"Here they are," Molly said loudly as they walked in. Everyone looked up in curiosity. They hadn't been told much detail about the new members. Or perhaps member—the boy didn't look of age.

Rigel looked around for his uncle but didn't see a face he recognized—expect perhaps vaguely from _The Daily Prophet_.

"Where's Sirius? Upstairs?" Dumbledore asked. Molly nodded.

"Moping again."

"Well." He gestured to Lenna and Rigel who were standing a tad nervously in front of them all. "These two are new to our number. You might recognize Rigel from Hogwarts; he's in Ginny's year. Lenna Albeney is our old and loyal informer at the _Prophet_. And here comes the kicker: technically their real names are Mrs. Lenna Black and Rigel Regulus Black."

There was a shocked silence. Remus Lupin was the first to speak. Though he looked much older, Lenna recognized his wolfish face and tattered robes. "Regulus Black?" he repeated. "You married Sirius' younger brother? And this is his son?" His eyes took in Rigel, comparing him to the figure of his father he had known years ago in school. He did see a resemblance.

"Yes," Lenna replied. "We married in secret. Regulus was murdered at the end of that year, before he knew I was pregnant with his son."

The tragedy of that made everyone quiet for a moment.

Tonks spoke up, smiling a little in welcome. "Welcome to the family, then." She stood to shake both of their hands. Rigel grinned at her bright pink hair. "I'm Tonks. Your third cousin…I think. Your dad's cousin's daughter."

"Which cousin?" inquired Rigel. He'd memorized his family tree years ago. "Bellatrix, Narcissa, or Andromeda?"

"Andromeda, of course. The only halfway decent one of the three. She married a Muggle, my Dad, Ted Tonks."

Rigel nodded. Lenna was busy shaking other hands and receiving thank-yous from members who had been helped by her coded _Prophet_ information.

"Someone should get Sirius," said Remus.

"Get me why?" came a voice, and a man appeared in the doorframe. His clothes hung off his tall, thin body, and tattoos showed on some parts of his exposed skin. His eyes still looked a tad sunken from the years in jail, but his clothes and hair were clean, and his expression not bad-natured. He was looking at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "I made a rather remarkable discovery, today, Sirius," he began pleasantly, "when I went to the home of Lenna Albeney to put in place some extra protections for her and her family. Together she and I agreed it was time for her son to meet his uncle."

Sirius did not look like he understood. In fact, he looked a bit bored. His eyes found Lenna, he grimaced in recognition, and then his gray eyes flickered to her son.

He then reached out to grip the doorframe so hard his bony knuckles turned white.

"_How…_?"

Lenna was impatient. She didn't like all the tenseness. "Regulus and I dated in school. Even after he became a Death Eater we remained together. We married, and I had a son with him before he died. His name is Rigel. He's your nephew."

"Hello," Rigel greeted, a tad lamely. He felt awkward under Sirius' piecing, disbelieving stare.

"When I came to see you in Azkaban was just a few months after he was born," Lenna added.

Sirius slowly moved his gaze to her. "You didn't tell me. _He_ didn't tell me."

"Reg didn't tell _anyone_ to keep us safe. I didn't tell you because you might or might not have just had the Potters murdered."

Sirius twitched. He was staring at Rigel again.

"Do I look like my Dad, Sirius?" he asked. He sounded so charming, the atmosphere lighted. "Mum says I do, but—"

"You have no idea. No idea. Come here." They walked toward each other and Sirius took up his nephew's face in his paw-like hands, turning it this way and that. He suddenly made an odd huffing sound, exhaling, and he gathered Rigel to him, pulling him against his chest. His eyes were emotional, but not teary.

Rigel beamed, his head on his uncle's chest. "I'm glad to finally meet you."

"Me too, kid," Sirius managed. He held onto the boy as if he was not going to let him go. Lenna left them alone, turning to meet and greet the other members. Albus lingered, talking business with some people.

Feet could be heard tramping down the staircase.

"Well, I should be on my way, Remus," Professor Dumbledore said rather quickly. "I shall stop to visit Arthur when I leave, Molly."

"Thank you, Albus."

"Thank you, Professor," Rigel piped up. "For everything."

Dumbledore nodded, smiling, and then left the kitchen. Within a moment, a herd of kids came into the kitchen. Harry watched the Headmaster go, looking as if he wanted to stop him, but the new people in the room claimed more importance at the moment. Sirius and Rigel were sitting together at a table and when Harry came up to Sirius, his godfather stood and shrugged an arm around him.

"Harry," he said, bursting with the news. "You remember me telling you about my younger brother Regulus?"

Harry needed no more clues. The eyes in the boy's face were exact copies of his godfather's. He resembled Regulus, Sirius' brother, like a photograph taken from far away.

"He's his son."

Watching from behind him, his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger's eyebrows were raised in surprise.

"Yes. No one knew about him until today. Dumbledore discovered them. And his mum's the woman who's been working for the Order through the _Prophet_ for years. They're part of the Order now."

"I've seen you at school, but we've never actually met," Rigel said humbly, standing up. He stuck out a hand. "I'm Rigel. Ravenclaw. Fourth year. It's really, really great to meet you." Admiration showed in his face. It softened Harry somewhat.

"Hello, Rigel," he replied, shaking the boy's hand.

"Mum's just told us, Rigel," Ginny said, coming up to them both and grinning. "Welcome to the Order." They smiled at each other, knowing each other from the classes they had together.

"Thanks, Ginny. I've been wanting to join for years. This year worse than any because of the ministry—and Umbridge! Merlin, I've been having to practice Defense on my own time, it's such bollocks…"

"Rigel, you should join the D.A.!"

"The what?"

"_Miss Lenna_!"

Everyone turned in surprise. Kreacher had snuck into the room and had spotted Lenna. Most in the room had never heard his voice sound like that before: it was colored with shock and affection.

"Hello, Kreacher," she replied softly.

The house elf scrambled to her and began embracing her lower legs, his usually-hideous features transformed by tenderness.

"Kreacher has not seen Miss Lenna, not for these fifteen years, Kreacher is glad to see her again, Kreacher is wondering if Miss Lenna is well, is Miss Lenna well?"

"Very well, Kreacher, thank you," she replied again, softly. She had bent to put a hand on his back and she patted him there gently. "How are you?"

"Kreacher is missing his true masters and mistresses," he croaked miserably. "Kreacher is having to serve muck and bloodtraitors and mistress's bad, bad son. Kreacher would much rather be Miss Lenna's, yes please, Kreacher should like to serve Miss Lenna instead."

"This is Kreacher, Mum?" Rigel asked, coming up to them. He knew everything his mother knew about his father's death, including the elf's involvement.

Kreacher stared at him. His little chest heaved. He looked as if he were having a heart attack. Lenna was a bit frightened for his health. He wasn't exactly young.

"Miss Lenna," he managed to croak. His eyes were swimming with emotion.

"I know, Kreacher."

"Miss Lenna."

"I know."

"Kreacher didn't know… Master Regulus' son…"

Kreacher had begun to kiss Rigel's shoes and he looked a tad disgruntled. "Er, Kreacher, you don't have to do that."

"He's the Black family elf," Sirius stated, assuming Rigel wouldn't know, and looking at Kreacher with undisguised dislike.

"Kreacher has a better master now, oh yes. Kreacher will serve young Master Black—"

"You still serve me whether you like it or not, you little imp," Sirius growled back. "Stop slobbering on my nephew's shoes."

Kreacher drew himself up to his fullest height, glaring at Sirius. His wrinkly cheeks were pink.

"Shall we, er, all sit down and have some of Molly's tea?" Tonks interjected. The room cleared rather quickly as Order members went into the drawing room. Harry, Ron and Hermione remained with Sirius, Lenna, Rigel and Kreacher.

"Leave the room, Kreacher," Sirius ordered coldly. This was obviously the very last thing Kreacher wanted to do in that moment and he gave Sirius a look of loathing.

"Sirius, can't he stay if he's quiet?" Lenna asked gently. "Regulus meant a lot to him and now he's just finding out he had a son. Couldn't he—"

Sirius shook his head. "Sorry, I don't want him around. He just—makes me angry."

Obeying orders as he had to, Kreacher skulked out of the dining room but stood in the doorframe watching—just out of the "room". Scowling, Sirius led them into the drawing room away from him.


	5. CHAPTER 5: IT ALWAYS HURTS

**CHAPTER 5: IT ALWAYS HURTS**

…

"To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die."

-Thomas Campbell

…

**T**alk flowed between everyone; noisier and livelier even than Christmas dinner with Lenna's family had been. There were so many people to get to know and so many people that wanted to know about Rigel and his mother. There were secrets about the Order to learn, things and names to remember, and more. But Lenna was pleased by the people she met; especially Tonks, Harry's friend Hermione, Remus, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and the Weasley family—the twins Fred and George and little Ginny especially.

Rigel loved the twins too, and he kept near Harry like an admiring younger brother. He and Ginny also seemed to get along well. Sirius was interested in knowing all about Rigel's life, and he divided his time between asking Rigel questions about his growing up years and asking Lenna questions about before he was born. Rigel was basking in the attention. He too asked his uncle questions and got an obvious thrill from being able to talk to Harry like a friend and ask him questions too. Remus was interested to listen to them; Tonks was interested to be near Remus. Lenna's perceptive eyes saw an attraction there.

Kingsley, Mad Eye Moody, and Molly Weasley would sometimes listen also and sometimes be discussing Order business or recent news. Ron and Hermione weren't as interested in Lenna and Rigel as Harry was, and they sat on the floor with Ginny, Fred, and George watching Dinah and Crookshanks play good-naturedly with one another; the two had taken to each other the moment Lenna had allowed Dinah out of her traveling case. They made an amusing couple: Dinah was graceful, lean and eye-pleasing; Crookshanks was knobby, fluffy, with a very squashed face. Ginny had found a scarf and was teasing both cats with it, laughing.

Members began to leave one by one to go home and eventually it was only the Weasley family, Harry, Hermione, and Sirius—the house's currently-permanent residents—who remained. Rigel had shown Harry, Hermione, and Ron the box he was given by Cal from Ireland, and Hermione had become deeply interested in it; she was sitting with her legs tucked under her in an armchair and fiddling with it. Ron was playing a card game with his other brothers and sister, Sirius and Lenna were talking quietly by the fireplace that someone had lit earlier in the evening, and Rigel and Harry were talking on the couch.

Rigel never seemed to run out of questions or things to talk about, but instead of being irritating, it was engaging. Harry had never been fond of talking about himself, though, so he asked Rigel about himself just as often. He had to admit…the scrawny black-haired boy reminded him of himself. Rigel had the same spirit of rebellion in him. The two has amused themselves for a full hour abusing Umbridge and citing what was wrong with the Ministry. Nor did Rigel shy away from talking about Voldemort (though like his mother he avoided using the name), what he might be doing or planning, and what it might take to stop him. They shared the same flavor of passion for his destruction: they both had parents who were dead at his hand or his orders.

"What're they talking about now?" Sirius asked Lenna under his breath, smiling a little. They could only catch bits of Harry and Rigel's conversation from the other side of the room over the noise of the Weasley kids' game. "Think they're finally done griping about that Umbridge toad?"

"Probably not," Lenna sniggered. "Ri can go on for hours about how repellent she is."

Sirius smirked. It faded slowly, replaced by a sort of pensiveness. "You remember that big fight at the Bones' place all those years ago?" he asked quietly.

Lenna didn't reply, but he could tell by the thinning of her lips that she did.

"Regulus and I found ourselves alone for a few minutes in the middle of it, and he said—I'll never forget it—he said that he regretted it all…and that he had wished he had had the strength to follow in my footsteps."

Lenna was looking away. Her face seemed slightly darker, as if a shadow were across it.

"He never did follow in my footsteps, though, Regulus. Ever since we were kids he always tried to mark himself as different from me. For attention, you know? Being the younger one and all. And I think even in that he made his own path. It was harder for him…but in the end he had things right. I had underestimated him. You knew my own brother better than I did. I didn't know what was really in his head and heart."

She didn't say anything for a few moments, and then because a reply seemed called for, she commented in a low but steady voice, "He fooled a lot of people."

"But not you." Sirius was looking at her curiously, as if wondering what about her had made her so special to him. "Do you mind talking about him?"

She gave his eyes a level look. She had quite a gaze; Sirius had to give her that.

"It always hurts to," she replied frankly. "But I want to. With you. It's appropriate." She smirked a little. "You are my brother-in-law, after all."

Sirius blinked a few times and then laughed. "I am, aren't I? Ha. So…you two kept so much secret. Does any Death Eater know? Did my mother or father? Did Voldemort?"

"No one that had any ties to him ever knew," she replied quietly. "Except for Kreacher. In the end. He brought me the news." She sounded quite calm and steady but her eyes were haunted, dull with old pain. "Some of my family was at our wedding. My brother Calun and his wife Grace. My mother and father. One friend of the family to officiate. Everyone else knew I had married _someone__,_ but we always altered his appearance."

Sirius glanced down and saw a large diamond ring on her finger. Never to have been a part of any of this hurt him in a way he couldn't explain. "Where did you live?"

"The same apartment Ri and I still live in. When he could get away from home or Eater shite."

"And he didn't live long enough to know about Rigel?"

Lenna looked away sharply. "I told you." This seemed something she did not wish to linger upon.

Sirius was quiet. He was having a hard time solidifying this picture in his mind. His brother—Death Eater and loving husband…a man who had masked himself so well almost no one really knew the true content of his character.

"What was he like?" Sirius asked softly. It seemed an absurd question to have to ask—he had grown up with the boy. But those memories were tainted by what he had thought he had known. He had been so self-righteous, never bothering to imagine his brother might be more like him than he thought.

Lenna considered the question for a minute. Then she replied quietly, "He was foolish in the beginning. He had soaked up all the Death Eater propaganda and a lot of undertones of pureblood mania from your parents. We broke up when he became an Eater. I couldn't be with someone who pursued those goals, my life view was so radically different…I had thought better of him. Then seventh year he began to realize the reality of what he had gotten himself into. It was difficult to watch the shift. I wanted to help him, I still loved him, but I couldn't. He seemed like a stranger.

"But one night we both met at our old secret meeting place by chance. We realized we simply needed one another. No bad, good, right or wrong. It would have to be our life. I didn't want to live without him. He wouldn't have the strength for the charade if not for me. And so to the rest of the world he was an emotionless soldier for You-Know-Who. But when he came home to me, he resurfaced. No matter what he had to do or how long he had to stay away, everything was worth it when he came back.

"Then one evening, months after we were married, he simply didn't come back. Kreacher brought me his wedding band, his cloak, and his wand. Ri uses his wand now and has his cloak. Regulus left me with a family name I had to hide…and Rigel, who has been my life's blessing. If it hadn't been for his life inside of me, giving a purpose…I would not have thought twice about joining Regulus in death. It sounds melodramatic and cliché, I'm sure, but that feeling was very real. As it was, I had his son to live for.

"At his core he was kind to those he cared for, passionate, rock solid. He was brave, witty, and always in control of his actions, his words, and his own mind. He could shield his thoughts from You-Know-Who himself without any real training. He loved to crack jokes that would suddenly lighten a tense mood, and he was a pretty good dancer. He had a crooked smile and a great talent for poker. He safe-guarded the people he loved like a Doberman. He always took things into his own hands and worked hard to do everything he could. In the time he had, he gave me everything I ever could have asked for."

She finished her speech dry-eyed, but when she had finished she stared at the opposite wall and tears welled and fell. She brushed them away like a nuisance.

Sirius had been quite affected by her words and the two sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I wish I could have known him," he stated finally. "I wish we could have been the family we should have been able to be. All of us. It's cruel that he…that he was so young. If I could have given him the rest of my years, I would have."

"There's no point in wishing, Sirius," replied Lenna softly. She sounded like someone who knew that fact well.

"It's still important," he replied gently.

They were quiet again and Sirius could sense that was probably enough talk about his brother for the night. While they had been talking, the Weasleys had gone up to bed along with Harry—Hermione was lingering a few more minutes to chat animatedly to Rigel about his magical box. She seemed one of the few able to appreciate it like he did.

"Well, it's late," Sirius said, sounding mildly surprised at what time it was when he looked up at the clock. "I think people going upstairs have probably already taken your things up for you. Molly said she'd prepare Regulus' room. If that's okay?"

Lenna nodded. "Ri will like that."

"There's a cot in there too for Rigel if the bed's not big enough."

"I can just extend it magically probably."

"Alright. Well. Goodnight, then."

"Goodnight, Sirius."

Sirius said his goodnights to Rigel as well and then he and Hermione left to go upstairs. Rigel came over to his mom at her seat by the fireplace. Kreacher snuck into the room and also came quietly close to be near them. Dinah too entered the room, back from exploring this large house, and leapt up onto the back of the sofa. She lay up there beside Lenna's head and watched them with her lovely, perceptive green eyes, twitching her ears often as she heard noises from other parts of the house.

"You seem to have made friends with Harry like I know you wanted," Lenna commented with a fond smile as her son dropped next to her.

"I hope he doesn't think I'm annoying… It's just, you know, everything he's done…"

Lenna chuckled. "I'm sure he's flattered. And I'm also sure he likes you. What's not to like?"

He gave her a look. Kreacher had climbed up onto the old sofa next to him and was gazing at him. He seemed content just to be able to look and to be near. Rigel smiled at him a little and then asked Lenna, "What did you and Sirius talk about?"

"Your dad."

She knew she had made her son suddenly jealous that he had not been in on that conversation. He loved hearing her talk about his dad.

"What did he ask? What did you say?"

"He asked what he was like and I told him. You know what he was like, Rigel, I've let you see a lot of my memories of him."

Rigel scooted closer so he could whisper directly into her ear: "Are we keeping why and how Dad really died a secret?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"It just…it protects people, Rigel. It protects us too."

"What if it's important?"

"It is, but there's a right time for everything."

Rigel looked unconvinced, but he would still keep the secret as she asked.

"Would Master or Miss like anything?" Kreacher asked quietly. Lenna shook her head.

"No, Kreacher, thank you. You don't have to serve us."

Rigel shook his head as well, patting Kreacher's shoulder a little. The elf's eyes welled with sudden tears at the kind gesture and he curled up like a couch cushion beside Rigel, his beloved master's long-lost son.

Curt footsteps could be heard coming through the kitchen and dining room suddenly, and as a dark, cloaked man rounded the corner into the room, only very quick action on Rigel's part saved Professor Severus Snape from a horrendously nasty curse.


	6. CHAPTER 6: KINSHIP

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Though I think Allen Rickman an excellent actor, I've always pictured Snape differently. Lanky; longish, straight black hair; bony, shadowed face; black, intelligent eyes; good hands. None of Rickman's slow, deep drawl and thicker features. If you find Allen Rickman incredibly sexy, by all means imagine him in here, but if you're like me and prefer a different version, that's what I'm going to try to craft.

…

**CHAPTER 6: KINSHIP  
><strong>

…

"I hate admitting that my enemies have a point."  
>-Salman Rushdie<p>

…

**R**ecognizing his Potions Professor and remembering his mother's conviction in his Death Eater allegiances all in one stroke of thought upon seeing the man, Rigel acted on instinct, launching himself across the couch to flatten his mother against the arm of it before she could let loose the curse she had whipped her wand back for.

Severus was too taken aback to react immediately. It took Lenna's sudden shrieking to prompt movement.

"_He's a Death Eater in headquarters_!" Lenna was snarling, writhing under her son's weight. Severus attempted to disarm her but her nonverbal Sheild Charm prevented it—and incensed her more.

"Mum, he's my Potions Professor—he's probably in the Order, Mum—_Mum_!"

But she had thrown her son off of her, sent him rolling across the carpet, and now she and Severus Snape faced off in the dim, coal-lit drawing room. Kreacher hurried over to Rigel.

Lenna and Severus were too adept at nonverbal magic, however—nothing she could throw at the man could get to him, though so sharp was her aim that no harm came to the surrounding room.

"Albeney happens to be correct, woman," Severus growled, his upper lip curling in a condescending sneer. "I'm a member of the Order. Who the hell are _you_?"

"You _can't_ be in the bloody Order—Dumbledore would never trust someone like you," she snarled back. "I know where your allegiances are, Severus. Regulus knew you well."

Severus' eyes flashed with surprise as he deflected another spell. "How did you know Regulus?"

"What, don't recognize me? After all those N.E.W.T. Potions classes together? I'm insulted, I hadn't thought I had aged _that_ much—"

"Lenna?" He suddenly looked at Rigel who was watching them nervously from the floor and it was obvious from his expression how many pieces he was now putting together. Lenna was surprised he hasn't connected Rigel's last name to her before now—or Rigel's appearance to his real father.

It seemed now he had.

He looked speechless. Lenna could have cursed him at that moment, but she didn't. It wasn't sporting. Nor had he tried to attack back in any way—and, grudgingly, she had to admit Rigel was probably right about his belonging to the Order. Though she couldn't understand _how_—

Severus lowered his wand and stepped backward. How had he never given little Rigel Albeney a good enough look to realize that staring out from his face were Regulus Black's eyes? His brain was whirring. He had underestimated Regulus. All that time, he had been with Lenna. He had never left her. They had had a family. A secret family. He had fooled everyone, even him—and he'd thought he'd had a better insight into Regulus than anyone.

Rigel. The second star of the hunter and winter night guardian, Orion.

And Lenna. Severus certainly recognized her now. It had been fifteen years, but her eyes and her body shape remained the same. Her dark hair was a little lighter and her face more lined. But it was her. She looked formidable, scowling at him still like he was a snake.

Like a lioness, protective of her cub…Regulus, the lion's heart…

Tongues of jealousy licked at Severus' insides. Regulus had had a family, a love, a son. He had been able to keep all of it right under the Dark Lord's nose. He had protected them and his secrecy still protected them after all these years.

Rigel had gotten up. He was grimacing at his mother.

"Lower you wand, Mum." His tone was commanding, but Lenna shook her head once.

"Go get someone from upstairs. They'll know if he's really a member."

Rigel did not want to leave her alone with his Potions professor, but he knew this was the only way to get her to stand down. Professor Snape was known for being vindictive… He sighed as he climbed the stairs. He was never going to get to N.E.W.T. Potions now…

"Mr. Lupin?" His room light was the only one still on. "Mr. Lupin? I'm sorry, but Professor Snape is here, and my mum, well, she's not happy, and she wants another member to confirm he has a right to be here…"

Remus chuckled softly. He put aside his book and pulled a robe on over his shorts and tattered T-shirt. "Yes, I better…"

"How can you _possibly_ be part of the Order?" Lenna was saying to Severus.

He didn't reply. He had his own questions. He was tense; her wand was still pointing at him, though his was lowered. He didn't like the position. His mind was spinning with a bit too much. His eyes were flashing like Regulus' used to when he was thinking hard, and it made Lenna's heart squeeze with sudden pain. Her breaths grew shorter.

Severus gazed at her, and though fifteen years had gone by, by the light of the glowing fireplace coals he could understand how Regulus had fallen and devoted himself to this woman. She was lean, tough, but bearing a child had given her hips and breasts a perfect curve. Her eyes glinted in the light—the chocolate brown of them flinty, powerful, mesmerizing. She jerked her head a little to move her hair back from her face and the motion so reminded him of Lily that his heart squeezed with pain. His breaths shortened.

Remus and Rigel came around the corner.

"Lenna, please lower your wand," Remus said wearily. "Severus is indeed a member of the Order. He's a double agent for us and is allowed to come and go from Grimmauld as often as he desires without being attacked by new members."

Lenna lowered her wand but shot Remus a look. "I hope Dumbledore knows what he's doing."

"It's okay, Mum," Rigel said quietly. "He won't tell any of the Death Eaters or You-Know-Who about us. And even when they find out, we have the protection of the Order. I'll still be safe."

Lenna's expression convulsed for the tiniest moment and Severus knew her son had hit the real reason behind her malice right on the nose: fear for his safety. She sat down onto the couch and refused to look at any of them. Kreacher went over to her and wrapped an arm around her lower leg.

Severus was oddly torn for a moment. But he had come with news. "I need to speak with you in private for a moment, Remus," he said. Oddly, out of anyone in the house he could have had to talk to, Remus was one of the few he was most tolerant of. The tolerance was of a strange kind. It was tempered hatred. When he looked at Remus' face it was as if all four of their faces were staring back at him: his old enemies from school. But he also knew that Remus bared him no ill will. He had always been the kindest of the four—the most moral. And he seemed to see through Severus a little too well, lacking the clouding hatred that Sirius felt for him.

He told Remus what news had had come to give, and then went quietly back toward the drawing room as Remus went back upstairs. He stood in the shadow of the doorframe and saw Rigel alone in the room with Kreacher. He walked slowly into the room and Kreacher shifted slightly in front of Rigel, placing his small, frail body between Severus and the boy. Severus had never seen the elf be friendly to any human being for years, and wondered what it was about the boy that seemed to inspire such protectiveness in those around him.

Rigel was fiddling with an old, square wooden box and looked up as Severus came in slowly and sat in a chair across from him. This time when he looked at the boy, more struck him that was similar to his father—their jaws, ears, hair… Noses were different, though.

"I'm sorry about how my mum reacted, Professor," he said apologetically.

"Mm. There are plenty of people in the Order who look like they'd like to do much the same thing every time I step in here."

"They're just all scared. It's hard to know who to trust," the boy replied wisely. "But like my Uncle Cal said, if we can't trust Dumbledore, we can't trust anyone. And if he trusts you, so should everyone else. That simple."

Severus gazed at him impassively. Rigel had always been a clever student. He was a Ravenclaw, but lacked the arrogance or the distinct oddness that most of them possessed. He seemed trusting and well cared-for and in that way he reminded Severus a little of James Potter. But burning outward from his eyes and expression was Regulus Black and all his wit, tenacity, and a hint of his shadows. And he had a way of looking up at someone that was all his own; it was respectful and full of questions. A tribute, he assumed, to the way Lenna had raised him. That that spoke volumes.

"I got this for Christmas from my Uncle Cal," Rigel said, pulling Severus from his thoughts. He must mean the wooden box. Severus looked down at it. "It's really, amazing, Professor. My uncle and Hermione Granger have helped me figure it out even more than I already have. Look at this—" He began opening the box in a multitude of different ways and showing Severus how it worked. Severus was intrigued despite himself.

"Wait, there might be more to that one," he said, and his wand tip hovered over a compartment. Suddenly it split into six. Rigel looked delighted.

"It has so much, magic, Professor. I've already figured out it has a Replacement Charm on at least a quarter of the compartments for storing things like ingredients and things—which means I would just have to stock it and then I'd never have to buy Potions ingredients again. It even works on rare things like unicorn horn shavings—Mum and I tried it out."

"A lot of the time potions won't brew correctly with magic copies of ingredients."

"That's what my mum said, but sir, we brewed Verituserum in my kitchen—one of the pickiest potions we could make—and it turned out perfect. We're still keeping some of it stored in a potion-safe container, and I've been checking to see if it deteriorates, but it hasn't yet."

"Hm." Severus rubbed his jaw, interested. "Well if that's true, you have a very valuable object there. Here, that might—" Again he tried his hand at figuring out more of the box and Rigel watched, beaming.

"Ooh, there's one like that one on the other side that I found, if you try to shrink it, it'll expand, I think," said Rigel."

Severus did as he said, and smirked as the compartment widened until a trunk-sized compartment and about 5 feet deep expanded to the right. They shrunk it again by "expanding" it.

Rigel yawned with tiredness and Severus handed the box back to him. The puzzle box was fascinating, but the boy needed some sleep.

"You should go up to bed."

Rigel rubbed his nose. "Professor Snape sir?" His voice was a little hesitant.

"Yes?"

"My mum told me before that you were friends with my dad when he was alive."

Severus' mouth twisted a little. "We were."

"She said that when he was a kid, his best friend was Sirius, but after Sirius left and he was older, it was you."

Severus had never considered himself Regulus' "best friend". Regulus had never seemed to want or need any close friends. It was an odd thing to think about.

"If there was no one else, then yes, I suppose I was his closest friend. None of us really had many friends."

Rigel smiled at him and Severus blinked, caught off guard, at the expression in his eyes. It was trusting, content… He hadn't been looked at like a—like a friend in… He realized what the boy must be thinking. Here he was, a man the same age as his dad would have been, his dad's old closest friend… A father figure.

Frightening thought.

He opened his mouth to say something but as he did, Rigel stood.

"I should get to bed, Professor. I dunno where my mum got to. She might be in bed already. Anyways, thanks for the help with the box. Are you staying overnight? Will you be here in the morning?"

"No, I'm leaving tonight."

"Oh. When will you be back?"

"Hopefully not for a while."

Rigel frowned, then shrugged, looking like he understood. "Alright then. Goodnight, Professor."

Severus' mouth twisted again but he didn't know why. Was he annoyed with the boy? Amused? "Goodnight, Rigel."

The boy turned and went upstairs. The elf—Kreacher—followed him without a word. Severus stared at the dimming coals and used his wand to bring them a little more to life. The glow of them, now red-hot, warmed the room a little.

His head was still reeling a bit. And he had surprised himself by feeling a kinship with the boy, Regulus' son. He reminded him a little of himself—and Regulus. Regulus, who had always stuck up for and assisted him. Regulus who too had loved a woman in secret—a woman whose blood was deemed unworthy by those they associated with. And who had protected her in secret with everything he had—just as Severus was protecting his love and her son.

There was a bit of profound symmetry in that. He just didn't know what exactly it meant.

He had to admit he felt stirrings of protectiveness of the boy, just as those who knew his father all seemed to feel. Regulus had been his friend, that was true. And this was his son. Severus owed Regulus that—to safeguard his boy. It was not the same protectiveness he felt for Harry. That feeling always felt wrenched out of him; a duty, an inseparable, unassailable pledge that his heart had on its own volition offered his mother. Harry drove him mad—he saw everything he had hated about his father in him and every way he had failed. Harry's very existence was a piercing reminder of how Severus had failed in what had been the most ardent desire of his heart: to be with Lily. He protected Harry from the shadows because it was all he could still give her. It was an attempt to make up for his mistakes. And because her blood ran through him. She lived on through him, staring out at the world through his eyes. And that made the otherwise detestable boy inconceivably precious to his heart.

His protectiveness for Rigel was of a more natural sort. The boy was his friend's son and a good person. Probably too trusting for his own good. And in a way, he was a sort of miracle. Severus had never heard of a Death Eater able to have children without the Dark Lord knowing about it. He was the hope of the Black family as well. Their line and name was dying out.

He looked up as Lenna walked into the dining room where he could see her, saw him, half turned, then turned back and walked up to him through the dim drawing room. She had a mug of something in her hands that she was holding tightly.

He thought about standing to leave but something about her expression kept him in his seat. It wasn't unwelcome. Just…tired.

"I made tea," she stated. "Would you like some?"

"What kind?"

"A mixture I made…chamomile, mint, rose hips, apple skins."

That actually sounded quite good. He nodded slowly. "I would. Thank you."

She turned back into the kitchen to pour him some. Severus watched her go, wondering where this would lead, knowing her. By her reception of him, it would seem like she might always regard him with cool dislike like everyone else here. But… Severus shifted in his seat. There was something about her. A connection—the two shared a slice of past. A mutual friend. They both had more ties to dark magic than they did to good. He had to admit it to himself: he didn't want her to dislike him.

When she came back out she handed him a cup. Then she sat across from him and almost exactly as she did, a gray, white, and black cat leapt into her lap. The movement seemed perfectly synchronized as if from years of practice. She stroked the cat, especially a certain ear on which the black fur etched an old symbol of pagan sorcery.

She was gazing very steadily at him. He tried to stare coolly back, though her constant eyes on him made him feel awkward. Even the cat was watching him.

"I don't want to talk about Regulus, so don't think about questioning or bringing up some little reminiscent anecdote," she said.

He was sure she'd gotten enough questioning when she and Rigel had arrived. He had been thinking about asking a couple questions, but now thought better of it.

"Unfortunately, that's the only thing we have in common," he replied.

Lenna pursed her lips. "Hm. Didn't think of that."

"When did you and the boy arrive?" he asked.

"Today, earlier in the evening." She watched his eyebrows flicker upward. "Dumbledore came to put his extra protections on our home and I wasn't planning on him coming in. Rigel offered—he didn't realize—and Dumbledore saw a photograph. Of him and I." The words were a bit forced. She hadn't been kidding when she'd said she hadn't wanted to talk about Regulus anymore. "At our reception."

This too caught Severus by surprise. "You two married?"

In reply Lena lifted her left hand to show him the ring that still rested there. His eyes lingered on it rather longer than necessary. He sipped his tea. It tasted quite good.

The cat in Lenna's lap mewed softly and a shockingly ugly bushy brown cat walked up to them. It was bandy-legged and squashed in the face but his yellow eyes were intelligent. It sat on the floor in front of Severus, considering him for a little while, and tilting his head from side to side as if trying to figure him out. He wanted to ignore its strange behavior, but Lenna seemed intent on watching it.

Finally the cat leapt up beside him and sat itself down on the couch, not touching him but still close, and closed its eyes, looking content.

Lenna laughed.

The sound made Severus look up quickly to watch her. Her laugh was unexpectedly pleasing—even more so because he thought perhaps she did not do so often.

"Humph," she said, looking mock-disappointed. "I suppose I'll have to be okay with you now."

"What?"

She chuckled again, standing up, her cat leaping from her lap and walking with her. "Crookshanks is part Kneazle, Severus. Goodnight." And she walked out of the room toward the stairs.

A Kneazle. The magical cat-like animal able to tell whether a person was ill-meaning or not. By the manner in which Crookshanks was looking up at him lazily, he appeared to be the latter.

He scowled down at the animal and growled, "What're _you_ looking at?"


	7. CHAPTER 7: CHASING A GHOST

**CHAPTER 7: CHASING A GHOST**

…

_The song is ended_

_But the melody lingers_

-Irving Berlin

…

**F**red Weasley walked into the dining room where everyone was having breakfast holding under one arm Lenna's owl Tori laden with her beak full of owl post. Lenna rushed toward her from beside the counter where she had been making the kids waffles to relieve the loyal bird of her burden.

"I found this on our doorstep," Fred announced as Lenna came toward him.

"Tori! Oh you good bird, you brought all my work post from home, didn't you? Thank you sweetie…" She stroked the little gray owl's feathers and then poured some water for her. Tori chirped in thanks and then helped herself to a toast crust that had been left out on a nearby plate.

"Thank you for getting her, Fred." Lenna went through her letters while continuing to cook up waffles. "I have a kind of twenty-four-seven job and I was worried… It's safe to send post from here, right?"

"Yeah, you can send owls," Tonks answered. She had just returned from "guard duty," whatever that was, and was hunched, bleary-eyed, over her half-eaten waffles.

"You should get some sleep, Tonks," George stated as Tonks' head began to droop.

"Yeah, prolly." She nodded vaguely and got up, heading toward upstairs and a bed.

"Can you work from here, Mum?" Rigel asked after swallowing a large bite of sausage.

Lenna made a noncommittal noise. "Maybe for a few days more, but then I need to be in to the office. You'll be back at school in less than a week anyways."

"Don't remind me," Rigel groaned.

"You _like_ school."

"But not Umbridge, and she basically runs the place now."

"Not yet," Fred replied through a mouthful of waffle.

Lenna grimaced. "Her hold on Hogwarts is going to get worse before it gets better, I think. I get the feeling she and Fudge are trying to flush Dumbledore out of his position of power there."

"Well then they're morons," stated Sirius, walking into the kitchen in shorts and a black T-shirt and rubbing an eye to clear the sleep from it. "I've heard him talk about his plans. It's only for the students that he plays nice with the Ministry right now. If they take away that leash, they're going to seriously regret letting him loose."

"I don't think anyone here _doubts_ the Ministry are morons," George muttered cynically.

"What are his plans?" Harry asked.

"He's playing nice because the school needs him there," Lenna replied to Sirius, serving him a plate with a steaming waffle and some sausage on the side to his delight. "He knows the students would suffer if Umbridge controlled the place fully. Rigel's told me about the things she's _already_ pushed through while under him, I don't want to imagine what the hag could be capable of given free reign."

"What's Dumbledore planning?" Hermione asked again for Harry.

Sirius shook his head. "Can't." He shoved in a big bite of waffle.

The kids looked disappointed. Lenna couldn't blame them; the adults barely told them anything if they could avoid it. And as a new member (and who might or might not share anything they told her with her son) she felt like they were keeping her out of the biggest secrets and operations as well. She would earn their trust slowly but surely, though.

Once all the kids were fed, Lenna sat down with her mail and sent back necessary replies. She wasn't due to have a new article in for a week and a half, but there were still things to see to. Luckily she'd had her next article half-written for a few months now. She thought she'd get irritated fast with the insipid page three and articles not about news and what she felt people really needed to know, but oddly her articles had turned into a welcome reprieve from all the bad and danger that seemed to be everywhere. And obviously those who read them felt the same. It was easier for people to put their energy into focusing on trivial, light topics than consciously acknowledge they felt a change in the air. Though the wizarding world was still in denial or ignorance about You-Know-Who's return, things were beginning to happen—disappearances, unexplained deaths, and the Ministry's sudden radical shift in their attitude toward Harry and Dumbledore—that were keying people into the fact that things weren't quite right in the world.

"Here's a late Christmas card for us from Grandpa Walter's sister Gwen, Ri," Lenna mentioned, waving the letter toward him. Rigel looked up, made a bit of a face, and waved it back. Lenna chuckled and opened it herself, then tossed the hastily-signed card from her hair-brained aunt. Where was she now? Germany? She couldn't keep track.

"So, when Rigel leaves for school, are you going to stay here, Lenna?" Sirius asked. He didn't succeed in hiding the hopefulness in his voice. Lenna gave him a little smile.

"I can be here whenever I don't have to be at work," she replied. "Although sometimes I should be over at my brother's place helping him with the kids." Her mouth moved back and forth as she weighed things. "I feel safer here, I'm not going to lie. But we'll see."

"Professor Lupin said Snape was here last night," Ginny said to no one in particular. "I overheard him telling Mum. Did he have news?"

Sirius was grimacing as if there were something unpleasant under his nose. "Snivelly was here?"

Harry snorted into his orange juice at the sudden use of the Marauder's old nickname for Severus Snape. Lenna and Rigel, however, were giving Sirius a displeased look that was actually so similar to one anothers' that people who saw it smirked.

"He came late last night and gave some news to Mr. Lupin," said Rigel. He looked at Sirius. "He was my dad's best friend, you know." His face looked a bit obstinate.

Sirius sighed. "Yeah, and they were both little Dark Magic-loving twerps when they were young, kiddo, no offense. Your dad grew out of it, but Severus…"

"He's in the Order. He's a double agent for us," Rigel countered. "How can you say he hasn't 'grown out of it'?"

Sirius shrugged but his tone eased up. "You weren't at school with us, Rigel. I know it's hard to understand from the outside perspective, but some enmity runs too deeply to be logical anymore. At least, that's something Dumbledore said once. I'm sure Regulus and Severus got along fine, but he and I…don't. Plus he's a right _git_ to my godson."

Harry nodded, looking grim as if remembering occurrences.

This seemed to be news to Rigel. "Wait, really? But he—_owch_." Lenna had stepped on his foot from under the table—hard. He remembered that Severus' affection for Harry's mother that both he and Lenna knew about was yet another secret learned from Regulus that they were keeping.

"I hadn't heard that he was mean to you, Harry," he amended.

Harry seemed to know what had happened but didn't think it important enough to inquire.

"He's a bitter, greasy git, just like Sirius said," Harry stated.

"Shouldn't we all like all the other people in the Order?" Rigel asked. "Aren't all of us supposed to be partners and friends?"

"We are," Sirius replied. "Except for Snape. No one trusts him or finds him pleasant to be around. And he makes himself that way, Rigel, not us."

Ri didn't look like he agreed, but didn't protest further, probably because Harry had been so adamant against Snape.

"Ginny, don't feed Crookshanks from the table," Hermione scolded, smiling. Ginny stuck her tongue out, grinning too.

"Don't feed Kreacher from the table, either," Ron laughed. "You'll teach him bad manners."

The kids laughed but Lenna swatted his head lightly.

"It just so happens, Mr. Weasley," she told him, "that you will be worked rather like a house elf today yourself. Before she left this morning, your mother asked me to lead us in another cleaning brigade, and that means you too, Sirius."

Sirius made a face. "I—"

"_You_ can use a wand," Lenna interrupted. "It won't be that bad. Molly said Buckbeak's room needs to be cleaned up. I've got all the rest of this house that can be cleaned by magic. I might even be able to get Kreacher to help instead of stealing knick-knacks like Molly says he's prone to. But we all have to do some more dark magic-ifying. After that a few hours, I'll make something amazing for lunch, and you can all do whatever you want. I would suggest letting Rigel show you the joke board he got for Christmas. Sound like a deal?"

"Deal," everyone groaned. Lenna had to give Fred and George a pointed look before they too trooped out of the kitchen. Lenna swooshed and jabbed her wand this way and that around the kitchen and other nearby rooms to get things either clean or in the process of cleaning themselves. She sent a grumbling Sirius up to clean up Buckbeak's room upstairs and then joined the kids in the nearest room that hadn't been decontaminated yet—it looked to be some sort of guestroom, complete with a bath.

After a few hours of hard work, Lenna and the kids had gotten three more rooms clear of dark objects, curses, and general mildew. With an impressive array of household spells she'd worked hard to compile under her sleeve, Lenna was able to magically restore most of the rooms to pleasant, new-looking areas by patching upholstery, lifting dirt from rugs and carpet, and clearing scum from floors and walls. She even changed light fixtures or couches to better fit the rooms with a new atmosphere and Hermione especially was impressed with what she could accomplish. As they went, Lenna taught Hermione a few new spells and tricks that the girl was obviously bursting to try once she was back at school.

Everyone was surprised both by Kreacher and by how patient Lenna was with him. He would try and rescue dark objects from their sack to be disposed of or sold perhaps at Borgin and Burkes, and Lenna would ask him to stop and would explain that they couldn't have harmful objects in the house anymore and that keeping them wouldn't be good for anyone. She explained that they were trying to make the house as beautiful again as it had been when Regulus' parents had been alive and Kreacher seemed to resent their efforts much less after that. He even slunk over to warn Rigel about a certain vase in the guest bath.

For the rest of the day Lenna seemed like a house-warming hurricane. After the kids were tired and hungry, she made them all mozzarella sticks and spaghetti. After they went off on their own, she continued to doctor the house, lightening the foyer, cleaning the grime and dust from the handsome entrance area and staircase, and lending the old house a little of the interior design touch Grace had taught her. It felt like a useful thing to be able to do for the Order, and it was far easier to fix up an old house than it was to be out there in the underground war zone.

She left some things about the house alone, though. Things like a framed photograph of the Dark Mark in the sky in the hallway seemed appropriate. This was where those who fought dark magic congregated and reminders of dark magic fit the mood. Also some of the house's original themes and designs Lenna left alone. It made the place unique. She didn't want to destroy the memory of those who had lived here for generations, especially considering that by marriage…they were all her relations.

When Mrs. Weasley got back to Grimmauld she found the place rather transformed—_and_ there was no need for her to cook a dinner as Lenna had already cooked up dinner salads. Her kids were having a ball in one of the newly-cleaned rooms, playing games and toying with Rigel's Christmas presents, all of which he had somehow managed to pack in his trunk; Lenna suspected his magic box had something to do with it. She was, admittedly, not overly delighted to see the Viking ship out. Neither was Dinah.

Happily Molly helped Lenna set the table and complimented her on the place's improvements. They were expecting a big group tonight for dinner so Molly multiplied the salad amount and made loaves of fresh bread.

Dinner was a rambunctious affair: the dining room was full to bursting with Order members and the entertainers of the group were of course Fred, George, Tonks, and on occasion, Mundungus Fletcher. Harry, Ron, Rigel, and Sirius all sat near one another and talked nonstop, laughing often. Tonks amused Hermione and Ginny by telling them all the metamorphmagus stories she knew or had heard, many involving confused husbands. The older, core group of old members—Molly, Remus, Shaklebolt, and Mad Eye—talked together at the head of the table, though they too often broke into laughter. Lenna sat next to Remus listening and laughing. She didn't have much to contribute but when they spoke of serious topics she wasn't excluded and she cracked enough jokes that by the end of dinner, Kingsley struck up conversation with just her and they talked about _The Daily Prophet_. Kingsley knew a surprising amount for someone who worked in the Ministry, not at the paper, although, as Lenna had to remind herself, the two hadn't been very separate for a while.

Over ice cream, Sirius detached himself from the boys and came over to talk to Lenna and Remus. He was full of compliments for Lenna, both about her improvements to the house and about her son. Remus had to leave early, however, and then it was just her and Sirius. He was telling her some story about when he James, and Remus had snuck into the Forbidden Forest, but Lenna was only half-listening, looking around at all the happy friends here. For some reason she kept thinking about Severus and how he was ostracized from times likes this. Maybe it was because his name had been brought up that morning, but she felt bad. She didn't like that there was an unspoken unwelcome. She still remembered how Regulus had described the Death Eater social structure and how Severus had always been ostracized there too for his blood status and history. Unable to truly fit in on either side—was that the price he paid for being a double agent?

After dinner, Sirius seemed to want to talk to her more, but she excused herself and went upstairs. She'd felt a pull there all day but had ignored it. Now, while everyone else was downstairs, she had some time alone for this.

It had been so late last night she hadn't even turned lights on before climbing into bed next to her son and falling asleep. But now it was time to see Regulus' room. A place she had often pictured in her mind but had never seen. She turned on the main light and was surprised by what she saw. She never thought of Regulus as celebrating his Slytherin belonging or his blood status, but his room was an ode to it. She shouldn't have been expecting it to be anything other than a tribute to how Regulus had been as a young teenager: arrogant, hungry to please his parents, raised to be pureblood-proud. He had changed so much later in his too-short life, however, that the Slytherin decorations and Black family crest above his headboard seemed a bit absurd.

His room had been cleaned for the new arrivals, but hastily. Lenna could still see dusty things left exactly the way they had been for years. If his parents hadn't touched his room after he died, could that be exactly the place where Regulus himself had left that book on his desk? The things here seemed disturbingly frozen in time. Lenna's life had changed so much…it was disgruntling to be served a slice of the past in this way.

Feeling as if it was somehow her right, Lenna went through his desk and drawers and shelves. They were mostly full of newspaper clippings about dark magic, notes on Voldemort, books on curses. If one didn't know better, it would seem like the remnants of a fan boy of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. And some of the old stuff was. But Lenna new much of that top layer in Regulus' desk were not notes scribbled in admiration, but dirt on You-Know-Who saved and tucked away. Lenna went through all of it slowly, lingering over his hand-written notes, tracing the script with her fingertips. As she went she tidied, feeling as if after she had absorbed all he had left here, she should make it her own in a way.

In the very bottom right-hand drawer of the desk was a nondescript crimson box that didn't appear to have any way of opening. She tried a number of reveal spells and opening charms, but nothing worked. Her heart throbbed with an aching hunch and she began to try passwords.

"Amor vincit omnia," she murmured first. She was quiet for a moment and then simply murmured her own name. "Lenna."

A line appeared around the top of the box forming an open-able lid. She didn't feel ready to look in it in that moment. She placed it on the bed and then continued through the room, putting it from her mind as she had so often had to push her pain out throughout the years. She dusted, tidied the floor, and removed the stain of age and abandonment from the handsome room. The large bed frame was a wonderful mahogany and it took on the glow of being newly-polished under her wand. She righted the books on his shelves and cleared the handsome windows of grime and cloudiness. After lifting the dust and dirt from the rug, the room looked as if he might just have walked out of it. A wave of longing and loneliness flooded her suddenly as had not happened in a long time. She sat on the bed that she used to sleep in, in the room his grew up in, and rested her head in her hands.

"I miss you, Reg," she whispered very softly. "It looks as if you might walk in that door any moment and I wish to the marrow of my bones that you could. Your son is so wonderful…you would have loved to see him grow… God… I wish you could be with me right now…" She looked over at the little box and then, setting it in her lap, lifted the lid. The box hadn't been intended for her, but for Regulus himself to simply have. It contained old love letters, those letters of goodbye she had written him so long ago when she had been just a kid, photographs, a draft of the secret will he had given Gringotts just in case, and everything else he happened to have that was a memento of her.

Lenna didn't cry heavily, but the silent tears wouldn't cease as she read through old letters and gazed at the photos he had chosen for the box.

Rigel found her, as he always seemed to on the nights when her tears couldn't be stymied. He put his arms around her. They both waited for the wave to recede. After it had, his mom curled up on the far side of the bed and was quiet. Rigel knew not to ask questions. She didn't want to talk. And, really, she didn't need to.

He looked through the open box slowly and quietly. Some of it made him smile and some of it brought out tears that he brushed away as impatiently as his mother did hers. He loved seeing his father's handwriting—loved reading his thoughts and his words and sentences exactly as he had framed them. He had very handsome script. The progression of his voice through the letters from young teenager to husband was fascinating. Rigel loved his later letters. He sounded so wise in them—and so passionate. Quiet, self-contained, in control, even stately—but also holding a terribly beautiful tempest on the inside. Rigel loved the way he spoke, loved hearing the tenor of his voice through his mother's memories in the Pensive they owned. He always knew what to say and how to say it well. He had been such an extraordinary man.

Rigel ached.

What he wouldn't give to have had his father beside him his entire life, teaching him how to become like he had been. He ached with the loss of that. It wasn't enough sometimes just to share blood—he should have been able to _know_ him, learn from him, make his own memories with his father instead of chasing his ghost in other people's.

He put the box aside and when he could tell his mom was asleep, he gave his tears permission and they came hot and fast down his face. Everything in this room…he could touch it all, see it all, walk on the same floor boards… But it was like trying to touch a ghost. No matter how hard he wanted it or how hard he tried, there just…wasn't…enough.


	8. CHAPTER 8: TWO OLD SCHOOL FRIENDS

Credits to J.K. Rowling from whose book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix I took bits of this chapter directly from.

…

**CHAPTER 8: TWO OLD SCHOOL FRIENDS**

…

"'Give me a reason,' he whispered. 'Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will.'"

-Severus Snape

…

**T**rue to his word, Severus Snape wasn't to be seen at Grimmauld Place unless he absolutely had to be there, and the first occurrence of that wasn't until the very last day of the holidays.

Rigel was watching a game of wizard's chess between Ron and Harry in their shared bedroom. Lenna had never learned the game, and Rigel's Uncle Cal didn't have the patience for it. But he was already learning a lot from Harry and Ron. Ron was incredibly good at the game. Ginny and Hermione were also watching with Rigel and talking with him about the D.A.—Dumbledore's Army—that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had established to learn and teach themselves Defense Against the Dark Arts on their own. They were using a secret room called the Room of Requirement for meetings.

"And you know Luna, Rigel, she's in you and Ginny's year."

"She's in the D.A.?"

"Yes," Ginny said. "She believed Harry and Dumbledore, not the _Prophet_, and so I brought her to the first meeting. She's a great person, you know." She almost looked as if she were daring Rigel to contest that.

"Well I don't know her very well," Rigel replied carefully, "but I'm sure she's very nice."

Hermione began explaining the D.A.'s clever system of coin communication while holding tightly to Crookshanks who had been watching the moving chess pieces greedily for the last quarter of an hour.

"Do you have a girlfriend, Rigel?" Ginny asked him. Taken off guard by the question, he blinked rapidly.

"Uh, no. I don't."

"Harry dear?" came Mrs. Weasley's voice as she poked her head into the bedroom. "Could you come down to the kitchen? Professor Snape would like a word."

Harry didn't seem to hear her at first; one of his castles was engaged in a violent tussle with a pawn of Ron's.

"Squash him—_squash him_, he's only a pawn, you idiot—sorry, Mrs. Weasley, what did you say?"

"Professor Snape, dear. In the kitchen. He'd like a word."

Harry's mouth fell open in what looked like horror. Ron, Hermione and Ginny were all staring at him. Crookshanks took that opportunity to escape from Hermione's lap and leap gleefully upon the board and set the pieces running for cover.

"Snape?" Harry repeated.

"_Professor_ Snape, dear," said Mrs. Weasley reprovingly. "Now come on, quickly, he says he can't stay long."

"What's he want with you?" Ron asked as Mrs. Weasley withdrew from the room. "You haven't done anything, have you?"

"No!" Harry sounded indignant.

Rigel seemed to be the only person pleased with the fact that the professor was back. He followed a disgruntled Harry out of the room and down to the kitchen where Severus and Sirius were both sitting at the long kitchen table, glaring in opposite directions. The atmosphere was tense.

"Hello, Professor," Rigel greeted before continuing through and leaving the room that didn't seem big enough for four at the moment.

He went back upstairs, but a bit after he had, they heard Mrs. Weasley's elated voice from the foyer and he, Hermione, and Ginny joined the rest of the Weasleys in greeting Mr. Weasley who'd just come back from St. Mungo's completely cured. There were hugs, and Rigel shook his hand, meeting the man for the first time. He was wearing a pair of striped pajamas covered by a mackintosh and looked genial, kind, and perhaps a bit overworked.

They all trooped into the kitchen together. Mr Weasley opened the door and announced brightly to the kitchen at large, "Cured! Completely cured!"

But everyone then froze, staring at the scene in front of them also suspended in mid-action, both Sirius and Severus looking at them with their wands pointed at each other's faces and Harry between them, a hand stretched out to each of them trying to force them apart.

"Merlin's beard," said Mr. Weasley, "what's going on here?"

Both Sirius and Severus lowered their wands, looks of upmost contempt still etched onto their faces. Severus pocketed his wand and strode toward the door, passing the Weasleys without comment. At the door he looked back.

"Six o'clock Monday evening, Potter."

Lenna was coming down the stairs at the same moment that he was striding through the front entryway and his eyes met hers for a moment before sweeping out the front door.

…

"Mum!" Rigel exclaimed excitedly, running into the sitting room where Lenna and Sirius were sitting and talking together later that evening. "Guess what?"

"What?"

"We're not going on the train tomorrow—we're taking the Knight Bus!" He'd never been on it before and was excited to not only not have to sit on the Express for hours but also for the new experience.

Lenna chuckled. "My advice is hold on tight. Who's taking all of you?"

"Tonks and Mr. Lupin. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

Lenna nodded, frowning a little. "I have to be at work tomorrow, so I better say goodbye to you tonight." She looked like she didn't like the thought. "You be careful traveling, okay?"

"I will, I will," he replied impatiently, turning to leave the room again. "I'll say goodbye tonight before bed."

Lenna looked back at Sirius and saw his face had fallen darkly.

"The kids have to go back to school, Sirius," Lenna said gently. "You know that Harry and Ri would probably much rather stay here with you than go back to Umbridge."

He shrugged as if he didn't care but Lenna knew he did.

"And I'm going to be here as often as I can as well. As will Molly, Arthur, Remus, Kingsley, and everyone."

"I hate how it's different now," he growled. "In the war before James and Lily were killed I could be out in the action. Now I have to stay caged up like a bad kid. In my parent's fucking house." He looked around him in hatred.

"I'm sorry it's different," she replied sincerely. "I know it must be frustrating. But you mustn't ever feel like you're useless. You mean more to Harry than anything. You're like his father. And you've become a second father for Rigel as well now. At least for them you have to bear this with good grace and remember how important you are to them."

Sirius didn't seem overly cheered by her words, but his face was less dark.

"Rigel didn't know I was an Animagus," he mentioned, changing the topic. "I transformed and he was crazy excited."

Lenna groaned. "His aunt's an Animagus too. Merlin, I hope he doesn't try to become one on his own…"

"I did," Sirius replied proudly. Lenna gave him a withering look.

"You're lucky you survived."

"Oho!"

…

When Lenna went to visit Cal and Grace after work on Monday, her brother interrogated her about absolutely everything, annoyed when she couldn't share information that was privy only to members of the Order. Grace was still away escorting Erin back to school but Cal was assuredly going to tell her everything when she got back. In her absence he'd been doing well with the kids, though lamenting Lenna's unavailability to babysit.

"We've been having to use Kaitlin, Sue's daughter from up the street and she's a complete Muggle—Grace always does everything she can to hide the magic here but I've already had to do two Memory Charms on the poor girl…"

Lenna giggled.

"It's not funny, Len. Walter dropped his ice cream cone but stopped it from hitting the ground by reaching toward it, and then he just grabbed it out of the air in front of her—she called Grace up talking about 'the force'."

Lenna was roaring.

"It's from that Muggle movie series where there's magic in space. I had to leave work early to clean it up."

"Poor Kaitlin."

"Oh, don't feel too bad for her. She's a Muggle teenager." He shook his head in a weary sort of way. "Connie said she spent most of her time here last time on the phone with her boyfriend on vacation in the Alps. Needless to say, the kids miss you."

"Well I will see them when they get home and make them a dinner that isn't pb&js or macaroni and cheese."

"Hey! I can cook!"

"Calun, I have known you my entire life, and the only thing you can cook is box macaroni. And toast.

"And bacon!"

"Okay, and bacon."


	9. CHAPTER 9: PICKING UP PACE

**CHAPTER 9: PICKING UP PACE**

…

"Keep love in your heart."

-Oscar Wilde

…

**L**enna was asleep in her second bedroom—Cal and Grace's guest bedroom—when a flurry of hooting jolted her awake. She snatched her wand off the bedside table and lit the room with it. A number of soot-covered owls with notes on their legs or in their beaks were crowded around her bed, making impatient noise. One flew right onto her quilt and hooted loudly in her face. She snatched the note out of its beak. It was from Mr. Devries, her boss at the _Prophet_. One glance at its contents and she was getting dressed, white in the face.

Cal ran into the room, staring at the owls.

"I _knew_ I heard things coming down the bloody chimney!" His voice was a low hiss so hopefully it wouldn't carry upstairs and wake his children. "It's one in the morning! Lenna what the hell is happening?"

"Mass Azkaban breakout. All the Death Eaters." She was snatching letters from owls so that they could get going again, but she stuffed them in her pockets instead of opening them. She darted around her room, dressing for work and grabbing things to stuff into her work bag. "I have to go in, Cal."

Cal's face had paled as well. "I'm sending an owl to Grace. D'you want me to send one to Rigel too?"

"No, he'll find out soon enough tomorrow morning—he gets the Prophet delivered…"

Cal nodded and turned and left the room.

Lenna had her things together in a matter of minutes, and then left the house, Apparating as soon as she was off his property and could do so. She had forgotten her scarf but at least had on a warm enough cloak. In the frigid darkness she walked up the walkway to the _Prophet_ office, the clicking of her heeled boots muffled by the tamped snow covering the walk. She slipped through the door and up through back staircases to the main floor. For one in the morning the place was shockingly busy. Although only the core people were here, scrambling around and yelling instructions at one another. Three enormous page drafts were pasted up against the Wall—one for the front page and two for the two inside. Lenna didn't stop to look at them as she swept through the sleepless hubbub. Papers, photographs, and objects flew this way and that through the air. It was surreal to be here this late: the lighting was different and everything seemed more urgent.

"Albeney!" Devries shouted as she came up to him. "Good! You and Joyner are on photo content! Get cracking!"

She only had a chance to glace at Janet before joining Haven Joyner at a table spread with boxes and old photos.

"I'm glad you're here—you know the store room better than I do," Haven said, twitching photos this way and that on the table. "Dolohov…"

"What's the Ministry's stance on this?" Lenna asked, enlarging the most recent photograph of Dolohov they had on record.

"They're saying Sirius Black has turned into a rallying point for old Death Eaters, and that he helped them all escape. He knows how and everything… Shite, Rookwood, Rookwood…"

Lenna had frozen with shock and anger. They were blaming SIRIUS? She reeled herself in. Of course they would blame Sirius… People would easily believe that—even Haven sounded like he thought it obvious.

She went up and pasted the photo of Dolohov above his caption on the big front page draft. When she came back to Haven he told her, "They want one of Black for page two. What we have of him is in that box there" —he twitched his head toward a box on the table— "I'm going to put Rookwood's up."

Lenna grimaced and pulled the box toward her. It was odd to be looking at mug shots of a man she had been chatting with over hot cocoa only a few days ago. Her brother-in-law. She found a not-too-terrible photograph of him, fitted it to the right size for the draft, and pasted it up while people ran back and forth behind her, their robes flying behind them. Bits of paper flew magically this way and that of their own accord and the click of many un-manned typewriters was loud in the back. The man in charge of captions pushed beside her rudely as she was stepping back from the wall and she gave him a sour look before going back to Haven.

By the time she got back to Cal's house it was four in the morning. She hadn't allowed herself to read the bollocks in the article on the front page that poor Janet had had to help put together, knowing it was false. It didn't matter. Her work on the photos had pleased her boss and that was really all that was important.

Ten old Death Eaters—nine wizards and one witch, Bellatrix Lestrange, Regulus' cousin—were now at large and had probably joined with their old master by now, to the wizarding world's complete ignorance. This boost in followers would certainly strengthen You-Know-Who's power, and Lenna knew, as she crawled back into bed intending to sleep late into the morning, that things had become—and would probably continue to become—even more dangerous.

…

Hermione had just given a yelp that caused people around her at the breakfast table to stare. She smoothed _The Daily Prophet's_ front page down on the table—the headliner read **Mass Breakout From Azkaban: Ministry Fears Black Is Rallying Point For Old Death Eaters**. From the front page ten black and white photographs of leering faces blinked and jeered up at them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione bent over the paper to read as Rigel reached them.

"Have you heard—?" he gasped.

"Yes, yes," Hermione said quickly and he slipped in beside Harry to look at the paper with them though he had his own clutched in his hand.

That was the headline news on their first day back and the year continued to pick up a rather feverish pace as January fled by. Hufflepuff beat Gryffindor by ten points in their Quidditch match—Ginny caught the snitch but thanks to Ron's miserable goal-keeping they were still too far behind to win it. It made Slytherin the favorites for the cup which was a dismal thing.

Severus Snape's behavior toward Rigel hadn't changed much even though he felt they had grown a bit closer—though he hadn't expected it to. He didn't acknowledge they shared any sort of bond but because Rigel continued to perform well in Potions as always he caught the Professor giving him a proud sort of look every now and again.

A couple months into the new semester Harry did something extraordinarily bold: with Hermione and oddly Rita Skeeter's help he had his story of the night Voldemort returned published. He did it through Luna Lovegood's father's publication _The Quibbler_, which was an odd and rather unreliable magazine, but the only one that would take his story.

It was the best thing he possibly could have done. The entire school started buzzing about it—especially when Umbridge decreed it banned. Everyone seemed to be quoting and talking about it, whether they believed the story or not. People had noticed Rigel spending more time with Harry and he even got bombarded with questions from his fellow Ravenclaws, as did Luna.

Rigel stuck with his old Ravenclaw friends but used meal times to hang out briefly with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It thrilled him to be in with their gang and even more so the way they seemed to have adopted him. He knew they saw him as their little brother—but in less of a pesky annoyance and in more of a friend way. Rigel got along with Hermione because his mind worked just as quickly as hers—in fact often she found he was the one who kept up with her best; with Ron because Ron liked a laugh and Rigel had adopted his Uncle Cal's sense of humor; and with Harry because the same things drove them. He and Harry were similar in looks and as people. They liked Quidditch, were fatherless, and were easily excited about investigating things they'd been warned by adults not to investigate.

He and Ginny and reached a new level of camaraderie over the week they'd spent together as well. They often talked in the classes they had together before everyone took seats. She hadn't asked any other girlfriend questions, which Rigel was relieved about. Ginny was quite pretty, talented, and really quite a wonderful person. She had a sweetness in her that really was lovely. But in Rigel's eyes no one could compare to Holly Pollux with her electric blue eyes and shyness. Plus, Rigel was a perceptive person, and he had noticed something moving through the air between Harry and Ginny. Ginny probably didn't notice but she tended sometimes to gravitate around Harry. And Harry probably hadn't noticed, but he smiled at her more brightly than anyone else. There was something there, whether it was in the past or yet unacknowledged until perhaps the future—or maybe both—Rigel didn't know. But he wouldn't dream of pursuing a girl Harry could possibly be interested in. He valued Harry's good opinion far too much.

Ginny too was a perceptive girl. She was attracted to Rigel, but it was nothing she had her heart set on. Especially not when she began to notice _his_ heart's set. Which she had to respect him for; Holly was a good person. And his eyes wandered to her very often. One of the times they did so, as Holly walked in and began to unpack her bag before their Charms lesson two rows in front of where they were, Ginny smiled and commented, "You should talk to her, Ri."

"What?"

"Holly. You should try and at least talk to her."

Rigel grimaced for a moment, looking as if he were trying to decide whether to deny it or own up to his infatuation. Then he sagged a little bit in his chair.

"I can't."

"Rigel, you're attractive, smart, and nice. You can talk to any girl you'd like to."

"Thanks. But courageous isn't in that list. I'm afraid I'd mess it all up."

"I've never known you to mess anything up," she replied honestly.

He gave her a look. "You haven't known me very long."

She laughed lightly and hopped off his desk to go find a seat with the other Gryffindors. "Think about it," she chirped as she went.

Rigel sighed and let his eyes wander to the back of Holly's head. They'd talked before… But not recently. He grumbled to himself as he got out his Charms book. He had wanted to be like his dad, and his dad had had the balls to get with a girl his parents might have disowned him for even thinking about.

Time to nut up.

Later that evening after dinner, Rigel's palms were sweaty. He had asked Hermione permission to ask Holly if she'd like to join the D.A. It was risky, but Rigel trusted her. He had to do it carefully, though, so that if Holly didn't want to, he hadn't given away enough information to hurt the secret club. Their common room's walls were lined with books rather like a library, and Rigel knew where he'd find her in it: curled up in a window seat in the back corner, separated from the rest of the common room by a long couch. He took a deep breath and walked up to her.

She looked up from her book at him and pulled her feet towards her so he had enough room to sit down. He did.

"Hey Holly."

"Hi Rigel."

He smiled at her. Smiling felt easier than he expected. Now that he was here in the moment, his nerves had disappeared. "I don't know about you, but I've been getting frustrated with Defense Against the Dark Arts this year." Her eyes were turning his internal organs to a froth.

She tucked some hair behind her left ear gently and then nodded. "Umbridge isn't a proper teacher. All of us have been having to learn the spells on our own outside of class."

"Exactly. We're all in the same boat. I've actually found a group that practices together. They have to do it in secret because of Umbridge's ban, but they're all friends that help each other—from three different Houses—and there are meetings and things. And I was wondering if you'd be interested in becoming part of it."

She considered him for a moment. "That's how you've gotten to know Harry Potter and his friends better, then. You're in this club together."

Rigel frowned a little. "I can't really tell you that, Holly, unless you give your word you won't sell us out to Umbridge."

Her brows knitted and her beautiful lips puckered. "I beg your pardon; I hate that woman. She's cruel and the Ministry is completely exceeding their bounds by letting her trample all over the school. Any secrets are safe with me, Rigel, you should know that."

"Sorry, I just have to be careful," he said, smiling happily at her rather passionate reply. It thrilled him to be so close to her. She always felt like a puzzle he might never quite be given all the pieces to. "So, would you like to join? It's a bit dangerous, you know. If it's leaked, Umbridge will come down hard on us."

Holly shrugged her petite shoulders. "Oh, let her. And Rigel, please tell Harry that his article did a lot of good. I could tell things were wrong but didn't have an alternative story to weigh against the Ministry's position. Now everyone does—it helped make everything much clearer. My family and I—we believe him."

"Good," said Rigel, grinning, "because he's your new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." He stood. "I'll let you know when the next get-together is." His heart swelled a bit and he leaned in close to her suddenly. "And Holly."

"Yes?"

"I've been wanting to tell you for a while…you have really beautiful eyes." He smiled a little and then turned as his face began to turn red and walked away and up to his dorm. Once in his dorm, he sat slowly onto his bed, his heart hamming in his chest. What did he just do? Was it too much? Did he freak her out? Would she think he was an idiot? It was probably definitely too much too soon…

He lay back down and closed his eyes. It didn't matter. He'd made the leap. He'd taken the chance. No matter what happened, his dad would have been proud. He grabbed some parchment and a quill and began to write his mom. As his best friend in the entire world, she deserved to know of his gutsiness first.


	10. CHAPTER 10: THE ARMY SABOTAGED

Credits to J.K. Rowling from whose book Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix I took parts of this chapter directly from.

…

**Chapter**** 10: THE ARMY SABOTAGED**

…

"It's like Hogwarts wants us to fight back!"  
>-Harry Potter,<br>Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, J.K. Rowling

…

**H**olly blushed lightly pink the next time Rigel saw her. They were both in the library and he split from his friends to go up to her.

"The next meeting is tonight," he told her. "It was scheduled for later in the week but apparently some people can't make that, so it got moved to tonight. Can you come?"

"Yes."

"I'll meet you in the common room at seven and we can go together?"

She nodded.

"Alright. I'll see you then." He walked away feeling odd. Disappointed? But then, what had he expected? Her own declarations of long kept-secret adoration? She was a reserved girl. There was no way to really tell what she was thinking.

He came down from the boy's dorm a minute before seven and saw her sitting in an armchair, holding her wand. He nodded at her and they left the common room together. He expected her to ask where they were going but she didn't; she was content just to follow him and eventually find out. He liked that.

They met Fred and George at the entrance to the Room of Requirement and preformed the necessary little walk to enter it together. Holly's eyes opened very wide when their odd pacing revealed a doorway and they all went through it. She stared around at the room already filled with D.A. members and smiled. Rigel loved her smile and stared at her the entire time she was taking things in. Her eyes found his and her expression gave him quite a bit of hope that maybe things weren't blown after all…

Harry was on form that night, teaching them all two new spells the fifth years had to read about in their books but had been unable to practice. Holly had practiced everything in their fourth year book up to the present, but Harry worked with her and only her for a while, working on some other useful spells the books didn't cover and, though he often had to mingle and assist others, he and Holly had progressed to fifth year spells already by the end of the night.

Holly seemed delighted and also very impressed when Harry and Rigel practiced their Patronus Charm; Harry's stag leapt around on light hooves and Rigel's handsome Belgian Shepherd sat on the floor next to him, a quiet, powerful guard.

"We've moving to Patronuses next week," Harry told Holly. "Rigel's ahead of the curve." He grinned and slapped Ri on the back good-naturedly before going over to Ron. Holly looked impressed and Rigel would have to remember to thank Harry later for the bro bump.

They got back to the common room rather late. They both paused before separating to go to their separate dormitories.

"Thank you for inviting me to join, Rigel," she said softly. "That was—that was really great."

"Of course. I'm glad you like it."

"Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight, Holly." He smiled at her and then climbed the stairs to his dorm, his heart warm and buzzing.

It seemed like the next D.A. meeting couldn't come soon enough. He never seemed to get a natural opportunity to talk to Holly outside of meetings, so as the week drew to a close again he began checking the enchanted coin Hermione had given him rather obsessively.

It finally grew warm in his pocket after his Transfiguration class and he waited in the common room between his classes half doing homework and half watching for Holly so she could tell her. When she finally came in, it was drawing toward evening, and she looked like she had just come back in from the grounds—her winter cloak and dirty-blond hair had melting snow on it. He almost tripped over himself to catch her before she went into her dorm.

"Holly!"

She turned and looked expectantly at him. He leaned in close and whispered: 'Tonight at seven thirty. It's our last lesson before Easter. Can you make it?"

She nodded and smiled, though his proximity had made a bit of a blush rise to her cheekbones. Rigel 's insides squirmed with delight.

"Meet here again?" she asked.

Rigel nodded.

"Okay."

He turned and went back to his homework at one of the tables as Holly went up to her dorm to change.

That night in the Room of Requirement, after a bit of work, there were a number of silvery animals swirling and leaping about the room.

"Producing a Patronus in the middle of a bright classroom with you're not under threat is different than producing it when confronted by a dementor," Harry reminded them.

"Oh, don't be such a killjoy," said Cho Chang brightly as she watched her silvery swan-shaped Patronus alight gracefully on the floor. "They're so pretty!"

Holly snorted—a surprising sound for her—and Rigel laughed.

"They're not supposed to be pretty, they're supposed to protect you," said Harry patiently. "What we really need is a boggart or something: that's how I learned, I had to conjure a Patronus while the boggart was pretending to be a dementor—"

"But that would be really scary!" said Lavender Brown, who was shooting puffs of silvery vapor out of the end of her wand. "And I still—can't—do it!"

Neville Longbottom was having trouble too. His face was screwed up in concentration but only feeble wisps of silver smoke issued from his wand tip.

"You've got to think of something happy," Harry reminded him.

"I'm trying."

"Harry, I think I'm doing it!" yelled Seamus Finnegan. "Look—ah—it's gone… But it was definitely something, Harry!"

Hermione's Patronus, a shining silver otter, was gamboling around her.

"They _are_ sort of nice, aren't they?" she said fondly.

Holly was still trying. She'd been able to produce a sort of silvery shield, but no definite animal form. Since Harry was busy Rigel had taken up coaching her.

"Do you have another memory you could try?" he asked.

She twitched her mouth side to side, thinking. "Well, I'm using my happiest, I think, but it's sort of hard to focus on. A lot of action. Maybe…maybe this…" She closed her eyes and flourished her wand.

"_Expecto Patronum_!"

With a beautiful but ear-piercing cry, something enormous and winged erupted from the tip of her wand and flew up toward the ceiling, then soared around above them. Her Patronus animal was a surprise. He had been expecting a cat or a bird of some kind. Something cute and pretty.

Her Patronus was an enormous eagle. Its wingspan was huge and its talons formidable.

The sight of it had reduced quiet Holly Pollux to tears.

"Holly?" Rigel said gingerly. "Er, well done. Are you alright?"

She nodded quickly, rubbing away her tears with the back of her hand. "That—it's just—it's my dad."

Rigel looked up at the handsome beast now perched on top of the highest bookshelf, surveying them, and understood immediately. He sat down beside Holly on a bench nearby.

"My mom and I have the same Patronus," he told her. "Because it's what my dad's was too. She said it's because even though he's gone we both like to believe that he's still here protecting us. And because a Patronus is a charm of protection, we embody it with his memory." He murmured the Patronus Charm and his large, handsome Belgian Shepherd formed and sat in front of them quietly. Holly smiled when she saw it.

"I think that's exactly why," she replied very quietly. "I just didn't expect it. I'm sorry."

"Nothing to apologize for, little duck," he replied light-heartedly, using an endearment his mother sometimes called him. She laughed at the oddness of it.

"Quack quack."

He started laughing too: that's exactly how he would always reply. They were both laughing simply for the sake of being happy when the Room of Requirement door opened and an unfamiliar house elf rushed across the room toward Harry Potter. Harry looked down when the elf began tugging at the robes by his knee.

"Hi, Dobby! What are you—what's wrong?"

Patronuses faded away to silver mist, leaving the room darker than before.

"Harry Potter, sir…" squeaked the elf, trembling from head to foot, "Harry Potter, sir…Dobby has come to warn you, but the house elves have been warned not to tell…"

He ran headfirst into the wall; Harry tried to grab him, but he bounded off the stone and some of the girls, including Holly, let out noises of sympathy.

"What's happened, Dobby?" Harry asked, grabbing the elf's arm.

"Harry Potter…she…she"

"Who's 'she', Dobby? Umbridge?" asked Harry, horrified. "Is she coming?"

"Yes, Harry Potter, yes!"

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?" Harry bellowed to the frozen room. "RUN!"

Rigel seized Holly's hand and since they were near the entrance door they were one of the first people through it. Holly twitched to go right, but Rigel pulled her left after him.

"Not to the dorms," he hissed, "It's too far. We've got to find a place to hide."

They sprinted together and the sound of other people running behind them fell behind. Finally Rigel recognized an unused office and tried to open the door. It was locked but Holly was quick: "_Alohomora_," she commanded, and the lock clicked. They bolted inside the dark room, and shut and locked the door behind them.

"What about everyone else?" Holly asked. They could barely see one another—the room had no windows and the only light was coming from the cracks between the walls and the closed door. He shushed her gently.

"We can't do anything about it," he replied quietly. "The less people caught, the better. Hopefully the elf's warning came early enough that—" He fell silent as they heard loud voices. People were running toward where they had just run from, calling intrusions to each other. Two people thundered past the office they were in and one shouted, "You take the other hallway—go—quickly!"

He and Holly were both breathing rather fast after that.

"We just have to wait," he whispered. Despite the danger, he couldn't help registering how close in the darkness they were to one another. "I'm sorry this happened. It's only your second meeting…"

"Nevermind that—how did Umbridge find out?"

Rigel grimaced. "Someone told."

"_Why_?"

"I don't know. I can't see anyone who comes to meetings regularly giving us up, but there were some other people involved in the beginning that rarely show up anymore. But we'll know who it is soon enough. Do you remember that names list you signed at the first meeting you went to?"

"Yes… I thought it a bit foolish to keep a parchment that could incriminate absolutely everybody involved if it fell into the wrong hands."

"Well, it exists for a reason. Hermione put a bit of a jinx on it. If anyone tells on us, well, it'll show."

"That doesn't stop them from telling, though. It should have been some sort of word-binding jinx."

Rigel chuckled that it wasn't the jinx she disapproved of, it was that it wasn't severe enough.

"I don't think Hermione could ever be forced to cough up that parchment, though," said Rigel. "I don't think we have to worry that they'll find it. But if people get caught…"

"I wouldn't put it past Umbridge to resort to underhanded measures to get things out of them," Holly muttered. "Like force-feeding them Verituserum or something."

That _did_ sound like something she would do. "Don't ever drink anything she gives you."

"The contents of it would find her _face_."

Rigel laughed under his breath at the spitfire in her.

"Well, it would," she mumbled, sounding suddenly shy again. Probably embarrassed. He laughed a bit harder and she had to shush him.

"When do you think it's safe to leave?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "But not just yet, I don't think." He looked down at her and she was gazing at him in the very dim light. His heart sounded rather loud in the quiet, their breath the only sound.

"I've gotten the line before, you know," she told him quietly. "About my eyes."

Rigel frowned. He opened his mouth to retort, then closed it again. He sighed a bit. "Do I seem like the type of guy to use lines?"

"I don't know what kind of guy you are, Rigel."

"Well, then, how about you get to know me and then you'll be able to decide for yourself whether or not you think I'm the line-using type or the type who has to work up the guts to tell a girl something of how he feels, and when he does, what he says really is what he thinks."

His response left her with no reply. "Don't be huffy," she told him gently.

They waited a few more moments and then Rigel unlocked and opened the door. Everything seemed to be over. He didn't know if anyone had been caught or if they were all safe. He and Holly crept back to their dorm. They found Cho Chang wringing her hands in the common room.

They didn't even have to ask.

"I think they got Harry!" she groaned. "I heard from down the next hall Draco Malfoy shouting and then I heard Umbridge and so I just kept going…"

Rigel sank onto a chair at a table. "Shite. I'm going to go find Ron and Hermione. They told me where Gryffindor Tower is…I'll be back later." He touched Holly's arm as he left.

Holly looked at Cho.

"Does anyone know yet who ratted us out?

Cho shook her head slowly. Her eyes didn't meet hers. Holly narrowed her eyes and when Cho looked up she quailed under her angry gaze.

"I—it wasn't me, it's just…I haven't seen Marietta all evening…and she was telling me a few weeks ago that she didn't want to be in the club anymore…she didn't like that her name was down…she'd never wanted to go, anyway…"

"What a good _friend_ you have, Cho," Holly growled before standing up and disappearing into her dormitory.


	11. CHAPTER 11: ALWAYS KNOCK FIRST

Credits to J.K. Rowling from whose book _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ I took parts of this chapter directly from.

…

**C****HAPTER 11: ALWAYS KNOCK FIRST**

…

"I should've shown the book to Dumbledore," said Harry. "All that time he was showing me how Voldemort was evil even when he was at school, and I had proof Snape was, too—"  
>"'Evil' is a strong word," said Hermione quietly.<p>

…

**R**igel came back about an hour later. Holly was waiting for him in the common room by its one fireplace and by the look on his face the news was bad.

"Have some chocolate," she said, handing him one of the last of the truffles she'd bought in Hogsmeade a while ago. He took it as he sat down across from her and chewed it slowly, looking grim.

"I take it you found Ron and Hermione."

He nodded. "Harry too."

"How much trouble is he in?"

"None. But in general…we're all in heaps of it."

"What do you mean?"

"Dumbledore took the fall for Harry. The club's called Dumbledore's Army and with Fudge being the paranoid moron he is, that was all the proof he needed that Dumbledore's plotting against him and the Ministry. Dumbledore told them Harry had organized it on his orders. When they tried to take him into custody, though, he overcame two Aurors, Miss _High Inquisitor_, the Minister of Magic, and his Junior Assistant to escape. It's just like my mum said. They're going to be sorry they dislodged him from Hogwarts. Now that he doesn't have to play nice anymore to keep his Headmaster position, oh, they're all going to be sorry."

"Marietta was the one who blabbed, wasn't she?"

"Yes," spat Rigel. "How did you know?"

"I got it out of Cho. I was a bit harsh. I don't think she'll be talking to me any time soon."

Rigel chuckled. "Why Miss Pollux, I thought you were supposed to be so sweet?" he teased.

She shot him a look. "Sometimes people deserve it. Cho's always been…a bit silly."

Rigel smiled crookedly at her return to being too forgiving.

Scott, one of Rigel's good friends, flopped down next to him on the couch.

"Hey Ri. Where you been all night?" He jerked his head in greeting at Holly. "Hiya, love."

Rigel rolled his eyes. Scott's playboy front was just that—a mask for his issues. He was a good person at heart, though abrasive with strangers sometimes.

"So my brother sent me a new exploding snap pack if you wanna play. Unless you've got homework. Or extra-curricular activities." He winked at Holly. She blinked rapidly, looking affronted, and Rigel felt it was time to step in before any more damage was done by his tactless pal.

"I'll join you in the room in a bit, Scott," he replied firmly. "Tell Brax I've got some stuff to tell you guys too."

"Oh, alright." He left.

"Sorry about him," Rigel apologized. "He doesn't mean anything by it; it's just how he is."

"Let him know I'm not your_ extra-curricular activities_."

"He knows."

"I like Abraxas much better."

Rigel smiled. Brax was his best friend. "Yeah. But—before we were interrupted—you know what this means, though, right? Umbridge is Headmistress now."

Holly made a bit of a choking sound. "I thought the position would go to McGonagall!"

"It's supposed to. But it isn't. Fudge put Umbridge in charge."

Holly's nostrils flared rather like his mother's did when she got pissed. He smiled a little.

"But this might make you laugh," he added. "When she went back to get into the Headmaster's office she couldn't get in. It's sealed itself against her and apparently she threw a right little tantrum."

"I'm glad! The thought of that goat sitting in Professor Dumbledore's chair is atrocious."

Notices went up overnight all over the school reading **By Order of the Ministry of Magic, Dolores Jane Umbridge has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. **_**The**__**above is in accordance with Educational Decree Number Twenty-Eight**_**. Signed: **_**Cornelius Oswald Fudge, **_**Minister of Magic**. And by midday that day the entire school seemed to know all the details of the Headmaster's impressive escape.

As could have been predicted, things got noticeably worse with a villainous toad at the head of their school. She created the Inquisitorial Squad—made up of Slytherins more than willing to help her cause—and they could dock points from fellow students just like teachers.

People had gathered around the giant hour glasses that recorded the House points at the base of the marble staircase angrily, watching gems fly from the piles of Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, but leaving Slytherin's unchanged.

Rigel and Abraxas had heard about it and were coming over to look when they saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and a Hufflepuff friend of Harry's Rigel couldn't remember the name of standing there as well.

"Noticed, have you?" came Fred's voice. He and George had just come down the marble staircase and joined them.

"Malfoy just docked us all about fifty points," said Harry furiously.

"Yeah, Montague tried to do us during break," said George.

"What do you mean 'tried'?" said Ron quickly.

"He never managed to get all the words out," said Fred, "due to the fact that we forced him headfirst into that Vanishing Cabinet on the first floor."

Hermione looked very shocked.

"But you'll get into terrible trouble!"

"Not until Montague reappears, and that could take weeks—we don't know where we sent him," said Fred coolly. "Anyway…we've decided we don't care about getting into trouble anymore."

"Have you ever?" asked Hermione.

"'Course we have," said George. "Never been expelled, have we?"

"We've always known where to draw the line."

"We might have put a toe across it occasionally."

"But we've always stopped short of causing real mayhem."

"But now?" said Ron tentatively.

"Well, now—" said George.

"—what with Dumbledore gone—" said Fred.

"—we reckon a bit of mayhem—"

"—is exactly what our dear new Head deserves."

"You mustn't!" whispered Hermione. "You really mustn't! She'd love a reason to expel you!"

"You don't get it, Hermione," said Fred, smiling at her. "We don't care about staying anymore. We'd walk our right now if we weren't determined to do out bit for Dumbledore first. So anyway," he checked his watch, "phase one is about to begin. I'd get in the Great Hall for lunch if I were you, that way the teachers will see you can't have had anything to do with it."

"Anything to do with what?" said Hermione anxiously.

"You'll see," said George. "Run along, now."

Fred and George turned away and disappeared in the swelling crowd descending the stairs toward lunch. Looking highly disconcerted, the Hufflepuff friend of Harry's muttered something about unfinished Transfiguration homework and scurried away.

"I think we _should_ get out of here, you know," said Hermione nervously. "Just in case…"

"Yeah, all right," said Ron. "C'mon, Rigel, I'd come with if I were you."

Rigel nodded, eyebrows raised, and he and his friend followed them into the Great Hall.

Not ten minutes later it was obvious what Fred and George had been alluding to. They'd set off an enormous crate of enchanted fireworks that mutated, multiplied, or gained in strength the more magic was done to try and get rid of them. Umbridge's entire first day, therefore, was spent running around at the summons of the other teachers who seemed _quite unable_ to rid their classrooms of the fireworks without her. Everyone but Umbridge and Filch enjoyed themselves immensely.

It was because of this that Rigel was able to write his mom a much cheerier letter about the first day under Headmistress Umbridge than he expected. He admired Fred and George's guts, but would never attempt a similar stunt. But their natural creative ability meant they didn't need to lean on academics to make their living in the wizarding world, and that was cool. It was very Fred and George.

He was feeling a bit lonely, though. Scott was out, Brax was doing some homework he had procrastinated, he hadn't seen Holly in the common room, and Sir Gawain was out hunting. He frowned and sat up to gaze at the three photographs he had pasted to the wall beside his four poster. One was his favorite picture of his mom and dad. They were both young—out of school but not married yet—and they were in Cal and Grace's house in their living room. Regulus was sitting on the couch with Lenna sitting bundled up in his arms. She was nodding off and he was holding her close, looking alert and protective. He would turn his head to gaze down at her and his entire countenance would soften. He radiated love. And also once in a while he would look right out toward whoever was looking at the photo and give them an annoyed look as if criticizing them for catching him in that moment; probably because Cal had snuck up on him to snap the picture.

Rigel loved the way they looked in this photograph. His mom had always seemed strong to him, like a force of nature. She was tough and sharp-witted. But in this picture she looked like a child. Innocent, vulnerable, young. Without the weight of loss he had grown up seeing in her. And his father… the photo caught a candid shot of what his dad looked like as a young man on any given day. He was wearing a sweater and casual black pants, had some stubble on his chin, and he looked relaxed. Like in that moment, he wasn't a Death Eater. He wasn't anything but a regular guy with a beautiful girl.

Rigel could gaze at it forever.

The second was a picture Grace had taken of Lenna and Rigel out in their backyard a few years ago. The leaves from their many maple trees were thick in the ground and he and his mom were running around, kicking leaves, tackling each other into piles of them, and tossing a Frisbee. If he watched it for long enough he'd see his mom run up behind him, pick him up off the ground, and swing him around to his great delight. She looked happy and flushed, running and playing with him. One time Rigel had seen her stuff leaves down the back of his sweater and run away, roaring with laughter, and sometimes Cal would dart into the photograph and tackle his nephew into a pile of leaves.

The last was simply a picture of the entire family at Rigel's most recent birthday. Like all of their family get-togethers, he was a hectic scene. It made him smile, though.

Rigel rolled over to the other side of his bed and opened a drawer to take out his Ireland box. He had an ongoing project within it—he and Professor Snape had brewed a very ingredient-picky potion with Rigel's box's replicated ingredients a few weeks ago. The professor had told him to wait two weeks before bringing it to him, but to check it every day to make sure its deterioration didn't cause damage. They had tried to pick a compartment with damage-containing protective spells, but magic still sometimes could seep through. Rigel opened the compartment and took out the little phial of amber liquid. He inspected it, but all seemed the same. He counted back and realized it had been a couple days longer than two weeks.

He checked his watch. Hopefully it wasn't too late yet to call on the professor. He grabbed a jacket because the dungeons were cold and sped out of the common room with the phial tucked in his pocket.

He pushed open his unlocked office door saying excitedly, "Professor, remember the—"

"GET OUT!" Severus snarled, jerking his head up.

Rigel froze, extremely startled. Professor Snape was sitting behind his desk; there was a Pensieve on it to the right and it looked as though he had had his head in his hands. Rigel could not have known, but he had happened upon the Professor only about five minutes after he had come back to find Harry Potter in his Pensieve, witnessing without permission one of his worst memories. He had furiously ordered the boy from his sight, lobbing a jar of potion ingredients at him as he fled that had smashed above the doorframe and still lay scattered on the floor, and had been sitting at his desk since, soaking in the mortification of Potter having seen the memory.

"Oh Professor, I'm so sorry—I should have knocked—I'm sorry, I'll come back another time…" He was halfway back out the door when Severus' softer voice stopped him.

"Rigel…" He sighed and rubbed his face with a hand. "No, I… What is it? Is everything alright? Your mother?"

"No, sir, she's fine. In her last letter she said everything's been quiet since the Azkaban breakout, though she's getting a bit irritated with Sirius…"

That seemed to cheer Severus slightly; enough that he twitched his hand toward the chair beside his desk to indicate Rigel could sit down. He liked how the Professor called him Rigel now instead of Albeney.

As he stepped into the room, he stepped on some broken glass; it crunched under his foot. When he looked at the mess on the floor he asked hesitantly, "Is everything alright, Professor?"

"It's not of any concern. I apologize for shouting at you, Rigel."

"It really was my fault, sir, I should have knocked. I was just a bit excited."

"Why?"

"Well, remember the potion we've been letting sit?" He pulled out the phial and handed it to Professor Snape. "It's been more than two weeks and I can't see any change, although you'll know better than I would, of course."

"Hm." Severus got out of his chair and got some things down from shelves. He poured the contents of the phial carefully into several wide, shallow dishes and then began testing it by dripping or dropping other potions or ingredients into it. Rigel waited patiently for the results of this.

Severus looked impressed when he sat back at his desk. "It's still flawless," he said. "Remarkable. I've never heard of magic able to replenish to that degree of authenticity. Where did you say you and your uncle found this box?"

"A magical antiques shop in a podunk town in Ireland. Cal bought it for rather a lot of gold."

"Somebody had a pretty good idea of its worth, then, though I doubt a true understanding, or they wouldn't have sold it. Have you had it checked for dark magic?"

"Yes, sir, by my mom, uncle, my cousins' grandparents, and Mr. Lupin."

"Lupin's the only one on that list at all qualified to check that kind of thing, no offense to your family. You should get it checked over by some dark magic experts."

"The only dark magic experts I know are you, Mr. Lupin, and Professor Dumbledore, sir."

"Well, I doubt Dumbledore has the time, but I'll give it a once-over if you'd like. Just not tonight."

"Yes, sir. Thank you."

"You must get your potions talent from your mother, Rigel. Your dad, though a good student, was never overly skilled."

"But he took NEWT Potions, didn't he?"

Severus nodded. "He met your mother in our potions classes."

Rigel nodded, smiling a little. "Professor, can't something be done about Umbridge? I mean, none of the teachers like her. Couldn't we—y'know—kick her out? Or put it to a vote or something?"

The corner of Severus' mouth twitched wryly. "The way Fudge is right now, he'd probably try and put the entire school under arrest. He'd see it as tantamount to a coup. And the last thing we need with the Dark Lord lying in wait is that much unrest in our own government." He found it surprisingly easy to talk to the boy. And the chatting had significantly helped alleviate the sting of his mortification.

"It's easy to forget they're all still on our side," growled Rigel. "How long do you think it'll last? How long will You-Know-Who try and remain hidden? How long will Umbridge be Headmistress?"

Severus considered the questions for a few moments.

"We may have to finish out this year under her. But Dumbledore—and the teachers, for that matter—wouldn't allow any more than that, no matter what the Ministry may want.

"As for the Dark Lord, your guess is probably as good as mine. It all depends on whether or not he believes he can accomplish more by remaining unacknowledged, or by revealing himself. But he works quickly. I doubt we have long to wait before he feels it's time that more of his aims can be accomplished out in the open."

"I hope Fudge gets down on his knees and begs Dumbledore's forgiveness when that happens," Rigel muttered.

"I wouldn't count on anything too satisfying. When people realize they're wrong, they hate to admit it. It provokes resentment far more often than humility. Depending on how proud Fudge is, he may end up hating Dumbledore more, not less."

"That's—that's absurd," growled Rigel.

"People with very little strength of character, like Fudge, are easily predictable in the worst way," Professor Snape explained, toying absently with a marble-sized bauble on his desk filled with a watery, lime green potion. "Fudge became Minister because Dumbledore declined the position. He's always known Dumbledore is the better man for the job. In the beginning, he came to Dumbledore for his help and opinion. But having been Minister for a while, he's grown quite fond of the power of the position and has convinced himself that Dumbledore's the lesser one between them. Weak minds are easily overtaken by delusions of self-importance.

"He is of little matter, however. Or will be soon. War is a very difficult time for any politician, and Fudge will likely soon be pulled from office. However much they may annoy you now, Umbridge and Fudge will in the future be run over by their own bandwagon."

That outlook was oddly optimistic. And great mental image. He could see Fudge and Umbridge being squashed by the wheels of a giant wagon with a Ministry of Magic banner on it. They got stuck to the wheel like characters in an old cartoon and got ran over by them over and over and over again. Rigel chuckled.

"That's a good way to think about it," he said. It was probably time for him to go, though—he didn't want to overstay his welcome.

No matter what Harry said, Rigel didn't see anything horrible about Professor Snape. True, the man was a bit harsh at times and had a sort of domineering sneer that curled his lip when he was being so. But it seemed he saved those looks for other people, because Rigel had never had them directed at him. He enjoyed the company of his dad's old friend, and he doubted any horror stories he could hear from Harry about his behavior would change his mind. Plus, Professor Snape was very smart. It was good to have someone like him to come to with questions. It was obvious, at least to Rigel, that Severus' rather standoffish demeanor and coldness were a sort of comfortable wall he put up between himself and others. Rigel was not like that himself, but he'd known people like that. And his father had been like that. In his experience, that kind of thing hid the good person that was really inside. He could sense his mother saw that in Severus too, though she was still mistrustful of him.

"Well, I should be heading back, Professor," he said. "But thank you for looking at the potion and may I bring the box to you tomorrow night? I promise to knock first this time."

Severus smirked. "Make sure you do."

"Goodnight, sir."

"Goodnight, Rigel."


	12. CHAPTER 12: BRO DAY

**CHAPTER 12: BRO DAY**

…

"I get by with a little help from my friends."

-John Lennon

…

**R**igel, Abraxas, and Scott spent Easter Sunday hanging out in their dorm and eating all the Easter candy Rigel's mom and aunt had sent him. The three of them had all gotten all their homework for the Easter holidays done before today so they could have one true day off before classes started up again. They'd celebrated by playing exploding snap, one round on Rigel's joke game board, and two rounds of dragon battle with the collapsible mini arena and enchanted dragon models that Scott had received for Christmas. Rigel's favorite was the female Hebridean Black—she was fierce but not the strongest, though she didn't take unnecessary risks like Scott's favorite, the Chinese Fireball, which either won or lost spectacularly.

They were making such a ruckus in the fourth year boy's dorm room that it was cleared out except for them. They therefore took the opportunity to turn the entire room into a spectacular maze fort with their bedding and sabotaged each other inside of it with jinxes.

Rigel had just preformed a perfect Cactus Jinx on Scott and had fled, finding a hidden exit of the fort he had created and jumping up onto his bed next to Brax in a fit of silent laughter.

"I'm gonna cut your ruddy head off, Rigel!" Scott was bellowing. They could see the sheets jutting out where he was throwing his hands around, searching for him.

"You'll have to find me first, cactus butt," Rigel called, his wandtip to his throat, throwing his voice magically to the other side of the room. Scott immediately starting clawing through the fort away from them.

"Don't think I won't!"

Sparks flew up through one of the sheets leaving an easily-reparable singed hole, and Brax said, throwing his voice the same way, "Don't wreck any of Dmitri's shite, Scott, or he'll disembowel you."

"Dmitri can kiss my spiny _ass_," Scott replied and Rigel and Brax shook with silent laughter again. "Where _are_ you guys?! Damn!"

Rigel and Abraxas could no longer contain themselves, and they shagged against each other, roaring with laughter.

"_You're in for it now_!" Scott bellowed and he spun around, launching himself through the fort toward the sound of their laughter.

"Oh shite!" cried Rigel.

Scott blasted a hole in the bedding so that he could see them and all Rigel could do was shout "_Expelliarmus_!" to disarm him so that he couldn't tear him apart magically before his friend tackled him off the bed.

They rolled across the floor cushioned by their bedding, wrestling, and pulling down all the sheets. Rigel finally managed to roll away, laughing, but his face was punctured in several tiny places from Scott having sat upon it.

Abraxas found in the mess the sheet with the singed hole in it. "Nice."

Scott sniggered and Rigel repaired it with a flick of his wand. Then he healed the punctures on his face. Scott snagged his wand from Rigel's bed, preformed the counterjinx, and then sat down, red in the face from exertion.

He pulled a box toward him and made a bemused face. He held up the box with a tag on it that read from "For Master Rigel from Kreacher".

"What's this?"

"They're chocolate truffles from a friend of mine. They're really good."

"You got a friend that calls you 'Master Rigel'?"

"He's a house elf."

"You've got a _house elf_?"

"No, no. A friend of mine does."

"Oh." Scott popped a truffle in his mouth and nodded approvingly—they were good.

"I love how your mom always sends us all chocolate eggs," said Abraxas, munching on a handful of the crunchy candy his had inside of it. He began to levitate a few inches off the ground and looked down, grinning and wiggling his toes. "It's really nice of her."

"I'll tell her you say thanks," Rigel replied. His egg from his mom lay unopened yet, but he had eaten at least half of the chocolate rabbit Aunt Grace had sent him, along with a quarter of all the candy from the boxes spread across the bed. His favorite so far had been caramel chews that, depending on the kind, allowed the chewer to blow a little fire from their mouth, or bubbles, or a sparkly purple smoke, all of which tickled one's throat as it left their mouth.

Scott suddenly started laughing. He pointed to where a tiny white rabbit had just edged out from under one of their roommate's beds.

"That's where it got to!" Abraxas exclaimed. He went over and fished under the bed until he pulled the little bunny out and tapped it impatiently with his wand. It turned back into a sugar cookie. "It got all dirty," he muttered, siphoning off dust from his wand. Then he took a big bite.

"Did I tell you guys that my little cousin Connie won't eat anything that's been enchanted to look or move like a living thing? Not even chocolate frogs. And she'll start squealing with disapproval if anyone in front of her does. '_It had a heart beat, it had a heart beat_!'"

The boys laughed.

"I still don't understand why your one cousin couldn't come to Hogwarts. I'll never get the pleasure of dating her now," said Scott teasingly.

"Oh you could _try_—and find your teeth in the back of your head," Rigel replied coolly. Scott smirked.

"She probably wouldn't think he's good enough for her anyway," Abraxas muttered. "Girls these days…"

Scott laughed. "What, they think they're all too good for you, Brax?"

Brax shrugged. "They're hard as hell to talk to! Always tittering and moving in enormous groups. The way to do it is get some female friends like Michael Corner's got. Then they'll introduce you to _their_ friends and that way you can know them. I'm telling you guys—we have to work on this."

"Rigel doesn't seem to need any help," said Scott. "Been seein' you with Miss Pollux a lot recently. How's that going for ya?"

Rigel had told Abraxas about his crush last year, but he never would have told Scott. He would have made a lot of trouble with information like that. Rigel loved the guy, but he was an idiot sometimes.

"It's been good. It's going slowly but that's the way I want it. I really would _not_ appreciate any—uh—_help_ from you, Scott. She got offended by you the other night when you referred to her as my '_extra-curricular activities'_." He shot him a scowl.

"What girl wouldn't?" said Brax, also frowning at Scott, his eyebrows raised. "You're not even dating."

"Exactly. So keep your trap shut and don't screw it up for me, Scott."

"Sorry." He looked genuinely apologetic. "It was a bad joke."

"Merlin, this is nice," Abraxas groaned happily, stretching out on his back on Rigel's bed, candy wrappers on his chest. "Why can't Hogwarts be like this all the time?"

"We have to schedule free days more often," agreed Rigel. "All three of us get our stuff done before a Sunday once in a while and take it off together. Especially now it's starting to get warmer out."

Scott and Brax nodded in agreement. Scott lounged back on a pile of quilts and sheets on the floor and reached for the egg he'd received from Rigel's mom. His contained peppermint candy that sparked and snapped in the mouth as one sucked on it. He bit a hunk of the chocolate off.

"Any girls on your radar, Brax?" Rigel asked him. Having a prospective girl was an odd step up for Rigel—it made him feel slightly older than his friends though he wasn't.

Abraxas shrugged, looking a little bashful. "Charlotte Combs, but everyone likes her, basically."

Rigel wrinkled his nose. "Yeah, and it's made her right full of herself. I mean, she's very pretty. But I don't think she's worth it. Ceridwen's nice."

"Yeah, so's Loony Lovegood," Scott snorted.

"Don't make fun of Luna," said Rigel. Scott looked surprised. Rigel'd never stuck up for Lovegood before.

Abraxas was considering Rigel's suggestion. "Yeah…if she could clean up her acne, though…"

"Madam Pomfrey has something for that, I think. But I'd never be the one to suggest it…" Rigel grimaced. Girls were so sensitive sometimes.

"Yeah, but she's Holly's best friend, isn't she?" said Scott. "Friends should be careful about dating friends, just like brothers shouldn't date sisters. It'll be amazing for a bit but when a split happens that could get ugly."

Abraxas nodded at this wisdom. "What about you, Scott?" he asked him.

He shrugged, grimacing. "Nope." Only the two of them heard the issues behind that 'nope'. Scott had a good heart but not a very good childhood. He had closeness issues. It had taken them four years to really get him to open up to them once in a while. He was an arrogant flirt and a jokester, never letting a girl get close enough to him to mean anything.

As far as looks went, he and Rigel were pretty evenly matched. Rigel had his father's handsome features going for him and Scott had slightly-curly sandy hair, brown eyes, and a body that showed off how active he was. Abraxas was thinner and smaller and his dark brown hair was buzzed very short—he'd worn it long enough to brush his shoulders his first two years at school but had buzzed it over the summer before their third. Rigel had thought he had looked strange with his hair so short; more vulnerable somehow. And his posture for a while had given evidence to his now-gone long hair—he had sat more hunched, his shoulders like they were trying to hide his head. But everyone had soon grown used to it, including Abraxas, and he now sat straighter in his chair because of it. He wasn't the most handsome of guys, but Rigel liked him a lot. He was smart, trustworthy, and at times had a wry humor that was spot-on.

"Well, I think you're right about the friends with girls thing, Brax," said Rigel. "The thing is just to hike up the balls to talk to them. That's what I had to do with Holly. It was terrifying, but I'm glad I did it."

"She's nice," Scott said, nodding in approval. "Too quiet though. I think that'd drive me crazy."

"She _is_ a bit difficult to figure out. But everything I have seen for four years I've liked."

Scott smirked. "Yes, yes, you crush-struck pup, you."

Rigel rolled his eyes. He got up, looked out the window and then said, "Oy, it looks pretty decent out. You guys wanna go flying?"

There were shouts of approval and Rigel grabbed his broom; the other two would have to use school brooms. They ran down to the pitch, whooping at the first-years they saw on their way through the school who were such flighty little things that they often screamed in surprise or dropped whatever they were holding.


	13. CHAPTER 13: FEMININE ACCOMPANIMENT

**C****HAPTER 13: FEMININE ACCOMPANIMENT **

…

"Whether they give or refuse, it delights women just the same to have been asked."  
>-Ovid<p>

…

_**M**__um, _

_I don't know if you've heard already or not, but when I told you about Fred and George's fireworks, well, that was just a warmer-upper. I'd heard them taking about not needing N.E.W.T.s because all they want is to open their joke shop and now with Umbridge in charge and no Quidditch, school didn't seem worth it to them anymore. Well a few days ago they created a gigantic swamp along an entire school corridor, then they allowed Umbridge to catch them, summoned their brooms to them, insulted her, and took leave of Hogwarts entirely for their new joke shop premises in Diagon Alley. _

_The story's been retold so often that's it's become an epic and I've heard people talking about doing the same—or "doing a Weasley". And though one of the teachers could probably get rid of the Portable Swamp in a moment, they seem to want to let Umbridge struggle. Hogwarts has turned into prank central. Fred and George have sparked everyone's rebellious spirit and almost everyone has taken their parting words of causing trouble to heart. Someone let loose a niffler into Umbridge's office and it destroyed the place and even tried to gnaw the rings off her fingers when she discovered it. Dungbombs and stinkpellets are now dropped so frequently in the corridors that it's the norm for students to perform the Bubble Head Charm upon themselves before entering the hallways. There are so many troublemakers that Filch doesn't know which way to turn and rather unfortunate things keep happening to members of the Inquisitorial Squad. _

_And wow has it become clear just how many Skiving Snackboxes Fred and George managed to sell before leaving. Umbridge only has to enter her classroom of the students assembled there to faint, vomit, develop dangerous fevers, or else spout blood from their nose. She's tried to figure out the source but even after putting four full classes of sixth and seventh-years in detention and still failing to discover the secret, she had to give up and let students leave her classes in droves. We all tell her stubbornly that we're suffering from "Umbridge-itis". _

_Peeves more than anyone has been wreaking havoc—probably because __since __he's dead there aren't any consequences. He upends tables, bursts out of blackboards, topples statues, traps Mrs. Norris inside suits of armor, flooded the second floor, and dropped a bag of tarantulas in the middle of the Great Hall during breakfast. And whenever he doesn't have any other ideas, he floats along after Umbridge blowing loud raspberries whenever she speaks. _

_Tell Uncle S. I say hi—better yet read this to him because I know he'll get a laugh out of it—and please if you see Mrs. Weasley tell her not to get mad at Ron because he didn't have anything to do with it and couldn't have stopped them and he's worried she's going to make it all his fault. _

_Professor Snape looked over my box and couldn't find anything dark about it at all either, so if you were still worried about that, stop. He's a dark magic expert. He also asks once in a while how you're doing which I think is nice of him. He and I meet for evenings once in a while to talk. I find excuses like I have questions about a potion or I have a section of the box that's giving me trouble or something, but the truth is I really just like spending time with him. Harry says he's a horrible villainous git, but like Mr. Lupin said, I think that's just inherited and bitterness on both their sides. Professor Snape is really smart and I like talking about my dad with him. His stories fill in some holes. He doesn't go into that big of detail but he's told me about what being a Death Eater was like when my dad was alive so I could get a better understanding of it. He's told me how Dad was with the Eaters__,__ and I tell him what Dad was like with you__,__ and it's interesting for both of us, because it's the sides each of us don't really know about. _

_Holly and I haven't taken any steps closer yet__,__ but she did come up to me in the common room a week ago and asked me if we were still going to practice Defense even though the D.A. got shut down. I agreed and we've been meeting in old classrooms or abandoned offices to work on stuff. It's not as good as the Room of Requirement which filled itself up with everything we needed, but we check out books from the library and use an empty beat-up bookshelf to practice on. Sometimes we invite other D.A. members like Luna__,__ but we have to be really careful about it. Holly's a little more open and easy with me now__,__ and I really, really love her personality. She's never one way for very long, you know? She's sweet and shy and then she's stubborn and then sometimes she's loud and laughing. She's really unique. I've learned she has an older sister too named Christina who graduated a __couple years ago. _

_I liked your last article about the magical neighborhoods and towns in Britain and the best places to visit in them. We should go to some of them! I read 'between the lines' of it too… I try to subtly get some answers out of Professor Snape about that kind of stuff__,__ but he's very tight-lipped__ like all of you__. _

_Anyways, I've got to pack up for class and I've written you a book. I'll write as soon as anything more interesting happens. _

_I love you,_

_**Rigel**_

…

Rigel was in the common room, waiting with Abraxas to go out to the pitch for the last Quidditch game of the year: Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw. The atmosphere in the common room was pretty high as Gryffindor had been playing miserably this year, and depending on the margin of victory, Ravenclaw might be able to overtake Slytherin in points to win the Cup.

The boys had Ravenclaw flags and it was a fine, clear day in May; perfect weather for their favorite sport. They were talking loudly, comparing players and even past players on both teams, when Brax fell silent and stared behind Rigel. Rigel turned and saw Holly behind him with her friend Ceridwen, dressed to go to the game.

"Hi, Holly." He greeted, smiling. "Going to the game?"

"Of course," she said. "I was wondering if you would like to sit together."

"We'd love to," replied Rigel genially. "I have to warn you, though, we get pretty into it. There may be a lot of shouting."

Holly grinned. "We won't mind."

"Great. Well, we're just waiting on Scott and then we're going out to the pitch."

On cue, Scott jumped down the last few steps from the boy's dorms and grinned widely at the room at large. He then bounded over toward Rigel and Brax.

"Gonna be a good game!" he exclaimed. "Weather's excellent and their Keeper's atrocious! Couldn't ask for better!" He spied the girls. "Well, hel_lo_. Are we to be accompanied to this fabulous sporting event by this pair of lovely ladies?"

Ceridwen giggled at his shameless bravado.

"Yes, they're sitting with us," said Rigel, smirking himself.

"Quidditch and a feminine escort, my they do spoil us at this institution," Scott stated, his eyes dancing with merriment. He was on a bit of a Quidditch high. "Now let's get a move on before all the good stands are taken! Vamanos!"

And he strode at the front of their party, out the common room doorway and led them through the school and out onto the grounds. Abraxas resumed his comparison of the players on both teams with him as Rigel fell into step with Holly and her friend.

"I'm glad you could come with us, Ceridwen," he said politely, knowing sometimes it felt awkward to impose on a friend group.

"Thank you," she replied. Her voice was pleasant, like a bell. She had a small face but large hazel eyes and light brown, curly hair that rested a bit past her shoulders. She was a bit curvier than Holly, but it suited her; her face was petite enough, though she did have a rather unfortunate amount of acne. Her nose was cute under it. But she followed a bit in Holly's wake, shy and very self-conscious like many Ravenclaws.

"Do you like Quidditch?" he asked her.

"I do, but I'm not exactly an avid follower of it…We haven't been to a game since the first one of the year because of the weather."

Rigel and his friends would never let a little thing like a blizzard deter them from watching a match, but he nodded like he understood nonetheless.

"I take it it's likely we'll win?" Holly asked.

Rigel shrugged. "The odds are in our favor—that's why everyone's so excited. But I've learned in four years not to underestimate the Gryffindor team. They've scraped some pretty extraordinary wins. So I really don't know. Obviously I hope we do."

"Ron Weasley plays for the Gryffindor team, though."

"I'm not going to let a friendship with a Gryffindor steer my loyalty from my own House!" he exclaimed, grinning.

The girls laughed. Rigel had spring in his step. He quite liked entertaining girls—especially Holly. Holly, Holly, Holly. Her presence always made him fly.

"I might be trying out for Chaser next year," he told them.

"Are you good?" Holly asked.

Rigel shrugged, looking bashful. "Well, that's what tryouts are for, right? To find out if I am. I really like flying. But I think any other position might annoy me. Being a Chaser, there's constant action and you control the flow of the game."

"I bet you're pretty good," Holly complimented. Holly wasn't a flatterer, so he was quite complimented.

"Thank you," he said, and his gaze when he said it was shining with some emotion that made a bit of a blush rise to Holly's cheeks.

Scott and Abraxas had pulled ahead of them and they were waiting a bit impatiently for them to catch up. Then they all went out to the pitch together and got decent seats. Brax sat at the end of their party, then Rigel sat next to him with Holly on his other side, Ceridwen sat next to Holly and Scott sat next to her. Rigel knew Scott might not be too pleased with his set up because he would want to talk with the other two guys about the game in a bit. He would probably solve this by yelling to them over Ceridwen and Holly's heads.

Well, he'd warned them.

Rigel pulled out a bag of leftover Easter candy he'd compiled before they'd gone out into the common room and he offered it to the girls.

"I brought this to snack on—help yourself."

"Thanks," they both said, pleased, and dug in to inspect the bag.

"Do you have any family that played Quidditch when they were at school?" Holly asked him.

"Ye—er, no," he said, catching himself mid-word. He didn't want anyone on the scent of who his father had been, not even Holly. He couldn't meet her eyes, though, and her brows knitted confusedly.

"My mom plays with me sometimes, but she didn't play at school. And my uncle's a terrible flier," he said.

"Oh." She was still looking at him a bit probingly.

"You?" he asked to change the subject.

She nodded and smiled. "My sister did. She was a Chaser, but in her last year she tried her hand at being a Beater, and she liked it a lot more, ha. She and a friend of hers play on our local team at home. They don't make any money or anything, but she likes it. I go to all their games when I'm home."

"Oh, that's cool. Yeah I've goaded my mum into taking me to a few over the years. Couldn't get tickets for the World Cup, though. And mum was of course glad we didn't, what with what happened there after."

Holly nodded. "Yeah, Christina's same friend was there and she was really worried until she heard from her because she's Muggle-born."

"What are you?" He hadn't asked before because the question was a bit impolite before you got to know someone.

"My mum and dad were a witch and wizard, but both their sides intermarried."

"Mine too."

"I know."

"You did?"

"Well, yeah, you told me your dad was killed on He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's orders because he was helping work against him which means he was magical, and I know your mum's a witch because she writes for the _Prophet_."

"Oh. Well deduced, Sherlock."

"What?"

"Nevermind. Muggle books."

"Ceridwen's Muggle-born," Holly said, including her in their conversation again, "and she's got a hilarious story about her parents finding out about her magic."

Ceridwen grinned and opened her mouth to begin telling it, but Rigel never got to hear it because at that moment the teams were striding onto the field and the stands filled with cheering; the names of the players Lee Jordan was firing off could just barely be heard over it.

Rigel stood up and he, Brax, and Scott started bellowing "_Ravenclaw_!" at the top of their lungs. The boys shouted their own commentary at each other and screamed with enthusiasm as Roger Davies scored their first goal against Gryffindor. Rigel and Abraxas were yelling at each other about the excellence of their Chaser coordination while Holly watched them amusedly and Scott was grinning saying similar things to Ceridwen because she was the closest person to him to listen; she was blushing.

Another Chaser, Bradley, had the Quaffle and was zooming toward the Gryffindor goalposts, dodging their Chasers. He feinted—shot—and out of nowhere Ron Weasley seemed to know he was feinting and went the other direction and almost easily saved the shot.

The roar of excitement that had built among the Ravenclaws at the anticipated score fizzled out in surprise.

"Ha—that's got to be his first save in his entire life!" Scott shouted out. "Give 'im another, Bradley!"

But something had changed about Ron Weasley's Keeping abilities. Not even Scott could continue to defame him while he kept saving goal after goal to the general surprise of the entire stands. And though the Ravenclaw Chasers played excellently, Ron was suddenly up to the challenge.

"Cho better get the Snitch," Rigel said—loudly so that Brax and Scott could hear over the noise. "They're slowly pulling ahead…"

"Yeah," Abraxas agreed, looking up into the sky at Cho, hovering above the streaking players. Her eyes were peeled: she knew the game hinged on her now.

"She's a good Seeker—she'll get it," said Scott faithfully.

Cho _was_ a good Seeker. But Ginny Weasley was looking in the right place at the right time, simple as that. She got the Snitch and it was over. Gryffindor, by some kind of miracle, had scraped the Cup. Cho landed and with angry tears on her face, threw her broom at the ground. Gryffindors were swarming the field around their players, hoisting them onto their shoulders, and singing: _Weasley is out king, Weasley is our king, He didn't let the Quaffle in, Weasley is our king…_

"Bummer," Brax muttered mildly.

Rigel's expression was unattractive. It made Holly have to conceal a snort of amusement.

Scott took it hardest. He was red in the face, eyes narrowed to slits, and thoroughly dejected. Ceridwen looked a tad frightened to be so near him—he looked as if he might have liked to punch the nearest thing to him.

"C'mon," Rigel sighed. "It's shitty, but we just have to get over it. Let's get something in the Great Hall and then hang out."

They all nodded and headed back into the castle.

So despite their defeat, the five of them eventually enjoyed themselves, taking over a corner of the common room and talking, eating the rest of Rigel's candy, and playing a rather exciting game of wizard's chess on Holly's board—she brutally decimated Rigel with it, as she was quite skilled and he was only learning. He liked her set—the pieces had a lot of personality, whereas Ron's had all just liked to argue a lot. Her white queen was downright terrifying—barely ever saying a word but sneaking up and gutting everything she could.

He felt by the end of the night that he had gotten closer to Holly, and that felt wonderful, but he was worried about them staying just friends. He imaged he should probably take her on a date at some point. And the summer was closing in fast.


	14. CHAPTER 14: THE DEPT OF MYSTERIES PART1

**C****HAPTER 14: THE DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES, PART 1**

…

"Universal though the instinct for revenge may be, it is much stronger in some of us than others. And those who have it in abundance pay something of a price."  
>-Ellis Cose<p>

…

"**E**r, you should talk to her."

Rigel and Holly were both looking slightly down their table at where Scott was talking to a third-year guy and Ceridwen was sitting next to him and gazing up at him so often that the result was she never quite ate much of her lunch.

"I already have," Holly sighed in reply. "Before we hung out with you guys at the game, after we hung out with you guys that night, and a couple nights since then, too. I know how Scott is. Playboy."

"No, you don't know how he is," said Rigel, defending his friend. "You are not to tell Ceridwen this, and it won't make any difference to the fact that she needs to give it up. But." His words were a low hiss, not to be overheard. "Scott has issues. He had it hard growing up. Foster families, a run of perspective mothers that fell through, stuff like that. He's a good guy. He's loyal to the people he cares about, he's smart, and he can be tactless sometimes, but can also be really helpful and—and kind. But he doesn't let people in, Holly. Especially girls. Ever. It's taken Brax and I four years to get much of anywhere. And he's not good for Ceridwen. Or for anybody until he gets over that."

Holly moved her mouth like she was sucking on this new insight. Her eyes looked softer than they had been. "Thank you for telling me that, Rigel. But you're right in that it doesn't make a difference. On the outside, he's just a playboy. And he isn't right for her. But I've _tried_ to talk to her."

"Does she get embarrassed?"

"Not with me. More like defiant. And as her friend I have to respect what she wants, even though I know it'll get her hurt. I just—I just don't want to deal with the fallout of his rejection."

"She won't want you spending time with us. With me," he said softly.

"Well…yes." She looked up at him. As always, her beautiful blue eyes warmed his gut and made his blood feel like it was humming. Her face was sad.

Impulsively, Rigel reached up and touched her chin with gentle fingers. "If you can respect what she wants, then she should respect what you want."

A warm blush slowly rose to Holly's cheeks but she did not look abashed, nor did she look away.

…

The end of the year seemed to come at Rigel Black like the very train that was going to speed him from it. Hagrid sacked. McGonagall Stunned right to the chest and put into the hospital wing. Exams. And the issues resulting from Ceridwen's unreturned infatuation with Scott kept the five of them from being the solid friend group Rigel had hoped they'd be. Scott had so far avoided having to openly reject her by literally avoiding her, but it was still straining. Rigel saw Holly less. He hadn't gotten the chance to even ask her out.

Rigel had just gotten out of his last exam when he ran into Severus Snape almost running down a corridor toward his office.

"Rigel!" he barked and basically skidded to a stop. Rigel stared.

"Do you have a way to get into contact with your mother? _Immediately_?" He sounded deadly serious and rushed.

"Er, yeah—yeah, I do. Mum's a bit paranoid about safety…you've probably noticed…" He was taking his wristwatch off and unclasping a very small compartment behind the face. He tipped a tiny, very flat, white stone onto his palm. "It's a scrying stone. She has a connected one. She'll be able to hear me from it." He was enlarging the stone with his wand so that it was now larger than his palm.

"Walk with me," Severus said sharply and Rigel quickly obeyed. "I have to get to my office in case she isn't at Grimmauld. Rigel, I need you to speak with your mother and ask her if Black is at his house."

"Yes, sir." Walking, Rigel put his wand tip to the stone and began murmuring words of magic. Then he said loudly, "Mum! Mum, don't panic but I need to talk to you. It's for the firefighters."

Severus gave him a confused look.

_Code for the Order_, Rigel mouthed. Severus rolled his eyes. Rigel almost had to jog to keep up with the professor's pace as they zoomed down the corridors.

Lenna's anxious face appeared in the stone. "Rigel?! Rigel! What's going on? Are—"

Severus had reached out a hand behind him for the stone and Rigel handed it over while his mother babbled.

"Lenna," Severus said in a cuttingly serious yet oddly calming tone. "I need to know right now whether or not Sirius Black is at Grimmauld. Are you there?"

"Yes—we just got done feeding Buckbeak—I can go show you right now."

Severus had stopped walking. He watched intently as Lenna climbed Grimmauld Place's stairs and held the stone in front of her. Sirius' face came into view giving her an odd look.

"What?" he muttered.

Lenna's face was back in the stone's view. "See?"

"Yes," said Severus. "Thank you, Lenna."

"Severus, what's going on?"

"Potter's in Umbridge's custody. He apparently broke into her office to use her fireplace. He seems to be under the impression that the Dark Lord has Sirius in the Department of Mysteries."

Lenna muttered an expletive. She was going down the stairs.

"Sirius!" she snapped. "What's my brother's name?"

"Uh, Calun…" came his response.

"What form did Regulus' Patronus take?"

"A damn guard dog last I knew—some shepherd or something but I bet he took on yours later—what the hell is going on, Lenna?"

"This is him, Severus," Lenna said, looking back into the stone. "Sirius is definitely here."

"Potter is known for acting rashly, for trying to be a hero…" Severus growled to himself. Sirius indignantly cried out something in argument. "He may try to get into the Ministry," Severus finished. "The Dark Lord must be trying to lead him into a trap."

Lenna swore again.

Rigel began inching away from the Professor, looking longingly down the corridor.

"Rigel, you will _stay here_," Severus ordered.

Rigel scowled.

"Thank you, Severus," Lenna breathed in a rush, hearing the exchange. Her tone was oddly tender. In that moment he had sounded like the father her son had never been able to have. Severus looked back at her.

"Help me round up the Order. It may take some time, unfortunately, but—"

"Of course. Keep my son from going anywhere, even if you have to chain him up."

"_Mum_!" Rigel sounded desperate. "_But Mum_!" His face was set into an expression Severus oddly knew well—Regulus Black had possessed the world's fiercest tenacity.

So he magically knocked the boy unconscious.

"I am literally taking your advice and magically restraining him in the nearest room," he told the boy's mother.

"I don't blame you a jolt," she replied.

Severus allowed himself a quick smirk. He was growing rather fond of this woman.

"Go," he said. She nodded and ended the magic of the scrying stone. Severus pocketed the stone and levitated Rigel into the nearest classroom and sealed the room shut magically. He then half-ran to his office to assist Lenna in rousing the Order.

…

Rigel woke, disoriented.

He was in a dark room.

Did he have his wand? Yes. He lit the room. His memories reeled back to his last few minutes of consciousness and he swore loudly. Professor Snape had knocked him out and locked him up!

He'd had the sense to know he wouldn't have done as told and gone back to his dorm as if nothing were happening. But he had still underestimated the son of his old friend.

He should have taken his wand.

Rigel set to work trying to find the magic that would undo the door's seal. Professor Snape had been confident in its security, but Rigel attacked it like a puzzle. It took twenty minutes, but the door finally glowed a soft orange, and Rigel kicked it open as if on rampage. He looked at his watch. It had been at least an hour since he had been talking to Professor Snape.

He swore again and kicked at a statue in a niche in the wall. It _was_ possible they had headed off Harry. He ran to the Gryffindor common room entrance.

"Is Harry in there?" Rigel demanded of the first semi-familiar face that came out of it.

"Er, no. I haven't seen Harry for hours."

Rigel wheeled around and began sprinting toward the nearest exit of the castle. He ran down through the grounds and down the track toward Hogsmeade. Once out of the castle's grounds, he stood, panting.

He had never Apparated on his own before but he had read two entire books devoted to it. It was one of the things he was looking forward to most about being a wizard. He knew without proper training he could splinch himself and be royally screwed. But he _had_ too—and maybe that would make the difference. Voldemort was making a move—and his mother might already be at the Ministry fighting. Desire to be where she and Harry and the other people he cared about filled him up.

He closed his eyes. He focused on his destination. He gritted his teeth. And then he spun into space.

His entire body was being squeezed through a miniscule tube—he could not breathe, there was no space for it—he was speeding through space, through the tube—and _pop_!

Rigel fell on his ass in one of the enormous fireplaces that lined the far side of the Atrium, used by those that came in via the Floo Network.

Odd.

Rigel laughed breathlessly once. Breathing felt really good. He stood shakily on his feet and checked himself for blood.

He had Apparated. At fourteen. Without a license. Which was very illegal. Rigel laughed breathlessly again. His mum was going to kill him.

Off he ran into the Atrium and into a lift. The place was deadly silent. Bad sign. He selected Level Nine and went through the black door and the end of the hall when he got off.

He found himself in a circular room and could now hear screaming. Blue fire flared up around him and the doors rotated dizzyingly, disorienting him from where he had come from or where he needed to be going. It seemed the yelling and crashing was coming out of every door. Which made sense—Rigel had read that the Department of Mysteries was all interconnected. It didn't matter what door he chose.

Knowing this, Rigel flung himself through one at random.

There was dancing, diamond-sparkling light. Clocks gleamed from every surface. _The Time room_. A busy, relentless ticking filled the room. The source of the light was a towering crystal bell jar that stood at the far end of the room. Rigel knew the objects in these Mystery rooms could be dangerous and alluring. He averted his eyes from the innocent-enough-looking jar and went right to the door at the far end. There was no sign of disturbance in this room, so it obviously wasn't one he wanted or even one any of his group had been through.

The next room, however: different story. Towers of shelves of prophesies had crashed down in this room, destroying the contents of the glass spheres they were kept in here. All was quiet here as well, but it obviously had seen a fight. Rigel could hear the yelling again now and he knew he was closer. It was horribly frustrating to hear the yelling, knowing his help could be used, and not being able to get—

He wrenched open a door and gasped at the sight before him. He was in the Thought Room.

"_Diffindo_!" yelled Harry, his wand pointed at Ron's chest where thin ribbons of brain tentacles were spinning like the curls of a snake. He was tearing at them, thrashing—Ginny was clutching her ankle on the floor, looking horrified, her face white—Neville was there—so were Death Eaters—

Rigel let out a yell, launching himself in to duel the five oncoming Death Eaters with Neville and Harry. One sent a Stunning Spell right into Ginny's face and she keeled over sideways.

"_STUBEFY_!" Neville bellowed, blood running down his face from his nose.

"_Help Ron_!" Rigel ordered, spinning as he avoided curses and sent his own spraying from his wand.

"_Rigel_?!"

"_Rigel, how_—?!"

He ignored them. He was terrified—but terribly exhilarated at the same time. This is what he had wanted from the moment his mother had told him how his father had died. This was what he'd been training himself to be able to do for years: destroy the sons of bitches who had all played a part in taking his father from him.


	15. CHAPTER 15: THE DEPT OF MYSTERIES PARTII

Credits to J.K. Rowling from whose book _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ I took parts of this chapter directly from.

…

**C****HAPTER 15: THE DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES, PART II **

…

"I'd rather not be in a cage. I'd rather be dead. And I think it's not that uncommon."  
>-Angelina Jolie<p>

…

**T**he trick was to dodge while firing—you couldn't protect yourself and fight at the same time. He didn't even look to see if Neville had done as he said, he keyed his every sense into the dueling. Harry was dealing with two and Rigel had three.

"_Admordeo! Confringo! Expulso! PROTEGO! Incarcerous! Petrificus Totalus! Stupefy! Ammulito! Noceo! Stupefy! Adflictio!_" Rigel was bellowing, his wand a blur. It felt so satisfying to see grown Death Eaters shrink before his curses.

The two Death Eaters Harry was dueling sent streams of silver light that left craters in the wall behind them. Harry turned and ran, though there was no fear on his face, only determination—he was drawing the Death Eaters away. He was holding something high above his head that Rigel realized suddenly was a prophesy.

He hissed in frustration as the Eaters he had been fighting fled to go after Harry instead. He turned and choked when he saw Neville wasn't doing so well in helping Ron. Rigel dropped beside them and put all the magic he knew into severing the brain tendrils and freeing Ron who now was so bound he couldn't struggle. He finally found a combination spell of intense heat and a severing curse could destroy the tendrils. Neville meanwhile had gone after Harry. Rigel was annoyed at having to stay behind, but Ron was injured. He slowly cut Ron loose and did everything he could to heal Ron's shocking bruises and suction cup marks.

"DON'D GIB ID DO DEM!" came Neville's roar through space and a wall and Rigel leapt up and pursued him. Neville was screaming like Rigel had never heard anyone scream before—that could only be one thing: the Cruciatus. He flew into the room and began to clamber down stone benches into the sunken room they were now in—all the Death Eaters seemed to be here, and one had Neville captive. Harry stood alone on a dais where a stone archway loomed. Rigel realized what room they were in.

Death.

Upon seeing him, Bellatrix had lifted the Unforgivable Curse on Neville while Rigel fought. But there were simply too many Death Eaters. Like Neville, Rigel was over-powered, though he incapacitated a few with the curses he managed to dish out.

Bellatrix advanced upon him and he realized this was the first time he had seen his father's cousin. And she was about to torture him.

"And you, whoever you are! You get a taster too!" she shrieked and raised her wand.

The world convulsed in on itself. Rigel had not wanted to scream, but he couldn't help it. Pain like he had never imaged wracked his entire body. Red-hot knives were inside of him, bullets were blasting through his brain, everything was on fire—

It stopped and he fell to the floor, twitching as the awareness of pain lingered inside of his mind. Bella was gazing up at Harry.

"Now, Potter, either give us the prophesy, or watch your little friends die the hard way!"

Harry didn't even seem to think; he held out the orb of glass to Lucius Malfoy who jumped forward to take it—

High above them, two doors burst open and six more people sprinted into the room: Sirius, Lupin, Mad Eye, Tonks, Kingsley, and Lenna.

Malfoy turned and raised his wand but Tonks had already sent a Stunning Spell right at him. Harry dived off the dais out of the way. The Order members were raining spells down on the Death Eaters as they jumped from step to step toward the sunken floor. Rigel stared at his mother who wasn't going down toward the floor; she remained on the high ground with a better view, incapacitating Death Eaters with well-aimed curses. Two Death Eaters sent blots of red and yellow light at her and she flung herself to the side, then spun and fired back.

Rigel, whose Death Eater captor had been quite distracted by the entrance of the Order, had abandoned Rigel and Rigel began leaping up the stone steps toward his mother while firing curses back over his shoulder. He reached her and together they dueled Death Eaters from the top of the steps.

Numerous Death Eaters fell, but so did Moody—

Rigel couldn't watch what was going on while he was dueling. But as he and his mother struck their way through Death Eater after Death Eater, he saw her dueling skill as he never had before and appreciated it.

"Nice, Mum!"

"Sirius and I have been practicing!" She was quite good. Nimble. She spun on the ball of one foot to avoid a slash of curse and then sent out another from under her outstretched arm. Rigel's dueling style was different but skillful as well. He kept constantly moving while a stream of curses hissed through his rigid jaws.

Tonks fell at the hand of Bellatrix and she leapt after her cousin Sirius.

"Harry, take the prophesy, grab Neville, and run!" Sirius yelled, dashing to meet Bellatrix. Malfoy tried to stop Harry and Neville from leaving but Lupin intervened, jumping between them.

"Harry, round up the others and GO!" he shouted.

But Neville's legs couldn't support his legs because of the Tarantallegra Jinx and Harry could not get him up the steps. Rigel flattened himself against the high wall of the room, allowing his mother to take on the last Death Eater intent upon them, and watched as Harry tried to heave Neville, but Neville's pants split along one side and a milky white glass ball tumbled out and shattered on the stone.

"Harry, I'b sorry!" cried Neville, his face anguished as his legs continued to flounder, "I'b so sorry, Harry, I didn'd bean to—"

"It doesn't matter!" Harry shouted. The room echoed with yells and crashes. "Just try and stand—let's get out of—"

"_Dubbledore_!" said Neville, his sweaty face suddenly transported, staring over Harry's shoulder.

Rigel turned as saw, framed in the doorway right next to him, the Headmaster, his wand aloft, his face white and furious. Rigel's heart lifted at the sight. They'd get out of here. Everything would be okay.

Dumbledore was already at the foot of the steps before the Death Eaters realized he was there. There were yells; some ran for it, scrabbling like monkeys up the stone steps opposite. Dumbledore's spell pulled them back as easily as thought he had hooked him with an invisible line—

Only one couple were still battling, unaware of the new arrival. Sirius ducked Bella's jet of red light, laughing at her. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled.

The second jet of red light hit him squarely in the chest.

The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock.

As Rigel found himself jumping down the steps and raising his wand, he saw Harry was jumping down them as well from the other side as Dumbledore turned to the dais too.

Sirius began to fall. His body curved in an arc as he sank backward through the veil hanging from the arch, which fluttered for a moment as though in a wind and then fell back into place.

Bellatrix screamed triumphantly, but it seemed to reach Rigel from far away. Noises were dulled; he had gone numb… Sirius had fallen through the veil in the Death Room—Rigel knew what that meant, but he could not—would not—comprehend it… It couldn't be that he had just lost Sirius too after just finding him, just beginning to get to know his uncle, his father's brother, his blood…

He had found a piece of himself again that did something to fill the hole inside of him, but they had ripped it away. They took everything away. He hated them. HE HATED THEM.

He was suddenly screaming with rage—it ripped itself from his throat like some sort of animal. "SIRIUS!" Tears streamed from his eyes. But before he could let loose whatever stream of curses he had his wand raised for, pointed at Bellatrix's wasted heart—a body-bind spell got him from behind and it held him as if he were in vat of cement. He struggled against it but it did no good. He couldn't speak, couldn't even let the scream outward that was tearing him apart inside.

"SIRIUS!" Harry was yelling. "SIRIUS!" He reached the floor, his breath coming in searing gasps. But as he sprinted toward the dais, Lupin grabbed him around the chest, holding him back.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry—"

"Get him, save him, he's only just gone through!"

"It's too late, Harry—"

"We can still reach him—"

Harry struggled hard and viciously, but Lupin did not let him go.

"There's nothing you can do, Harry…nothing… He's gone."

The body-bind was lifted and Rigel's mother's arms were around him. He was screaming, letting what had built inside him out. He didn't know what he was saying, he just wanted to empty himself…

Lenna held onto him tightly as he sank to the stone steps, heaving with tears like he hadn't in a very long time. Around him he could hear the crashing, the flashing of more spells—though it was through a glowy haze—his mom had cast a protection charm around them.

Lenna held onto her shaking son as Dumbledore rounded most of the remaining Death Eaters grouped in the middle of the room, immobilized by invisible ropes. Moody had crawled across to where Tonks lay and was attempting to revive her. Behind the dais there were still flashes of light, grunts, cries—Kingsley had run forward to continue Sirius' duel with Bellatrix.

Rigel had his eyes trained on that fight, a glow of bloodlust in his eyes. He wanted Kingsley to _destroy_ her, break her into pieces, give her _agony_…

Suddenly there was a loud bang and a yell and Kingsley, bellowing in pain, hit the ground. Bella turned tail and ran as Dumbledore whipped around. He aimed a spell at her but she deflected it. She was halfway up the steps now—

At the same moment, both Harry and Rigel moved to launch themselves after her; Harry was able to free himself from Lupin and take up chase, but Lenna was too quick. She had touched her wantip to her son and had bound his body again.

"SHE KILLED SIRIUS!" Harry was bellowing as he leapt up the steps like a man deranged. "SHE KILLED HIM—I'LL KILL HER!" People were shouting behind him but he did not care.

Fury like acid crashed, foaming, against Rigel's motionless insides. How _dare_ his mother cage him magically and keep him from what he _needed_ to do—it was just like Severus locking him in a room—he had _helped_ upon getting here and if his fucking mother would just _let him go_, he would _kill Bellatrix, explode her, cut her down_—

Being a prisoner in his own body was the worst possible feeling. She had no idea what he was capable of. She had always kept him on a leash. How dare she—how dare she—

Everyone was running after Harry, Dumbledore at the head. The room was soon emptied.

Lenna seemed to be struggling with some enormous inner turmoil. Finally one side won and she undid the body-bind curse on her son, standing up. Rigel exploded with the force of a bomb.

"_Petrificus Totalus_!" he snarled, his wand swiping through the air, and his mother fell, paralyzed, his eyes wide in perfect shock. "HOW D'YOU LIKE IT?!" he roared and, leaving her, flung himself up the steps and after everyone.

He made his way back up through rooms now empty and ran down the entrance hall to the Department of Mysteries and back into the Atrium.

Someone seized him around the middle and he stared. All the Order were standing hidden around a corner. Rigel could hear a fight around that corner.

"What—?"

"Dumbledore instructed us all to stay," Lupin said very firmly.

"But Bellatrix is—"

"So is Lord Voldemort."

Rigel blinked a few times. "Is Dumbledore…?"

"Yes."

"Oh."

"Where's your mother?"

"I—she's back in the Death Room."

"Is she alight?"

"Fine. Can't we help?" he demanded, his blood still pounding.

"No," Moody growled in response. He was covered in dust and blood. "When Albus gives an order, it's not to be questioned."

"But _Bellatrix_…"

"Bellatrix learned to duel from Voldemort himself," Lupin hissed suddenly, glaring at Rigel. "I don't care how angry you are, Rigel, you could never hope to take her. You must _stop even considering it_."

Rigel sagged. When he didn't have bloodlust, he didn't have anything. Sirius was gone…. "But…Sirius…" Tears were running down his cheeks again. Tonks moved forward. Her clothes were bloodstained and she looked distinctly worse for the wear, but she wrapped him in her arms.

"I know, Ri. We all lost him."

Rigel sobbed into her shirt.


	16. CHAPTER 16: HEARTSTRINGS

**CHAPTER 16: HEARTSTRINGS**

…

"Love is an act of endless forgiveness, a tender look, which becomes a habit."  
>-Peter Ustinov<p>

…

**M**r. Lupin created a Porkey for Rigel out of Rigel's own sock that would take him back to the edge of Hogwarts. They had not seen the fight between Lord Voldemort and Dumbledore, but Voldemort had lost, took Bellatrix, and fled, but not before being spotted by Cornelius Fudge and the amassed pack of Aurors Dumbledore had summoned. Rigel didn't know what had happened after that.

Numb, he got his sock and shoe back on and trudged across the grounds. He didn't go into the castle yet, though. He didn't want to deal with people. He sat by the edge of the lake in the warmth and skipped a few stones. He didn't know what he was feeling…didn't want to feel…

He'd lost his father before he'd had him. This was different. Sirius had been there in his life. Real. Touchable. And now he was gone, leaving a void just as big as the one he'd filled. Maybe bigger. More had been carved out in the losing.

He hadn't eaten in what seemed like forever, but he wasn't hungry. More nauseous than anything else. But he realized the hospital wing was where his friends would end up once the Order had found them and brought them back, so he went into the castle and waited in the waiting area of the hospital wing for half an hour until people began to show. Neville's nose got fixed, Ginny's ankle mended, and Ron and Hermione were both put into beds, unconscious. Rigel and Luna—who had been brought with them and had stayed though nothing was the matter with her—watched as Madam Pomfrey tended to the two.

"Will they be alright?" Rigel asked her.

Madam Pomfrey nodded distractedly. "This poor dear has quite enough damage to be going on with, but she should make a full recovery—she'll just need to take a lot of potions for about a week… This gentleman, well, thoughts can leave deeper scaring then almost anything else, but with a lot of Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction, he should be fine…"

When Harry didn't show up for hours, Rigel assumed he and Dumbledore had some business together. When he did arrive he went straight to his friends, asked Madam Pomfrey after them, and then turned to Rigel. In that moment Rigel realized how much of a bond he and the Boy Who Lived had formed this past year. Rigel's eyes filled with tears and Harry hugged him to him, breathing roughly as if trying to keep tears in too.

Neither of them said anything because no words were enough to convey the loss of their foster father. Their anger, their confusion, their hurt. Rigel let Harry go but remained near him as they watched over their friends in the hospital wing. Rigel realized he hadn't lost everything he'd newly discovered this year. He still had a foster brother in Harry.

Harry handed him a Chocolate Frog and he ate it slowly. Harry's eyes were puffy and bloodshot with dark circles beneath them. He looked like he'd been through hell.

"What happened?" Rigel asked quietly. "I didn't see…but you don't have to talk about it if—"

"I chased Bellatrix to the Atrium where Voldemort interrupted us. She stood aside and he fired the Killing Curse at me but Dumbledore enchanted one of the statues in the Atrium to take the blow as he entered. He dueled Voldemort and was winning. Then Voldemort went into me and possessed my body."

Rigel stared.

"He was taking me over but then I thought of Sirius and grief filled me up and Voldemort couldn't stand being in contact with the emotion. It forced him out of me. Then Fudge and the Aurors showed up and Voldemort Disapparated with Bellatrix."

"Feels like…we just got him…doesn't it?"

Harry nodded, his eyes hollow.

…

Severus walked toward Dumbledore's office, thinking about how he'd just run into Potter about to curse Draco Malfoy but his point-deducting had been interrupted by Professor McGonagall, returned good as new from St. Mungo's. He was strangely glad McGonagall was better; it didn't seem her way to go, taking a Stun to the chest. It'd have to be something a bit worse to off that woman.

He muttered the password and knocked on the door of Dumbledore's office.

"Yes?" came his voice.

Taking that as cue to come in, Severus opened the door and then stopped in the frame of it. Lenna was sitting at the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk and she had been crying. The sight of her tears very much shocked Severus. Not because of them themselves, but because of the reaction he felt inside at the sight of them. The urge to comfort her…and to correct or destroy whatever was the cause of those tears welled inside him like a hot tide. And that was so startling to Severus Snape that he stood in the doorway speechless like an idiot.

"Severus," Dumbledore greeted when Severus said nothing.

"I should be going, anyway, Professor," murmured Lenna. "Thank you for talking with me, I really appreciated it…" She gave Dumbledore a watery smile and slipped past Severus. Severus stared at her back as she left and then called after her, "Lenna." He then pursued her without even a backward glance at the headmaster he'd come to speak with.

"Lenna."

"Hello, Severus." She was wiping her face on her sleeve.

"What's wrong?" he asked her quietly. Was she mourning her brother-in-law? Was there something else?

She looked up at him and then away. Severus didn't think she was going to tell him, but then she replied, "Rigel hates me for not letting him go after Bellatrix."

"Oh." Severus grimaced as he walked with her. "Anger is—it's part of grieving. The boy loves you dearly—anyone could tell you that."

Lenna smiled gratefully at him from under her wet lashes and Severus again had the horribly unacceptable impulse to comfort her. He wanted to touch her. He swallowed slowly, beating the instinct back.

"That's what Dumbledore said," she murmured.

They were quiet for a moment and then Severus asked, "Do you know how Rigel got to the Ministry?"

"However Harry and the rest got there—didn't he?"

"No. He managed to thwart my sealant charm on the door of the room I'd locked him in and when he discovered Harry and the rest were gone, he walked out of the bounds of Hogwarts and Apparated right into the Ministry Atrium."

"He…Apparated?"

"Yes. I've just spent the past twenty minutes clearing the issue up with the Law Enforcement Squad. Did you know he could Apparate?"

"I—_no_!" she said, looking flabbergasted. "At _fourteen_? I had no idea he would even _try_—"

"He's incredibly lucky he didn't splinch himself."

Lenna was shaking her head. She was crying again from some reason. Severus winced.

"He doesn't hate you," he told her again quietly.

"I…I've just never seen him like that, Severus. I feel awful. It probably sounds stupid. But I feel like I'm not being the right—the right kind of mother, but I just don't know how _not_ to try and—it's—it's selfish but I can't lose… I live for that boy," she finished stoutly, as if trying to cover up her embarrassment. She hid her face from him by looking away.

"Lenna." Severus had stopped walking so Lenna was forced to do so as well. His voice was low. "He knows all of that. He knows you a lot better than you think. But he's grieving and angry at the world and wants to be an adult like you—he thinks he's ready to be—and he's going to be resentful of being kept safe. You haven't done anything wrong. Anyone would have done the same. In fact, I tried to. If I hadn't been a moron and left him his wand, it would have been me he'd be angry with right now.

"I can't say I know how much to try and protect him and how much not to. But he doesn't hate you. How could he?"

Lenna gazed up at him and then swiftly took one of his hands in hers and squeezed it gently.

"Thank you, Severus."

Then she turned and walked away. Severus stared after her.

…

Rigel had heard that his mom had been to the hospital wing to see everyone and knew that she might still be in the school, but stubborn pride kept him from seeking her out. He felt bad for doing what he had so harshly and abruptly, but didn't regret it. He was three years older than Harry had been the first time at school he had faced Voldemort and survived, and though it sounded arrogant, Rigel was pretty sure he was the best at dueling out of every single one of Harry's lot. He'd been training on his own in dueling since the first day he'd been at school and able to practice magic. He'd memorized and perfected curses taught fully two grades above his current year.

He was up to the challenge of being in the Order. He was going to do his part and fight whether his mom wanted him to or not. He knew how important he was to her, but it wasn't fair for that to keep him back from becoming the man he was growing to be. He had to test himself. Do his part. If she didn't let him do so, he'd come to resent her.

Rigel wandered around the school seemingly aimlessly but it was only when he went into the Great Hall where the end of term feast was taking place and began scanning faces that he realized he was looking for someone.

Holly.

He wanted to see her before King's Cross Station parted them for an entire summer. He walked to Ravenclaw Tower, but before he reached it he found her, sticking a notice to a board on the wall. Holly glanced over when she heard footsteps and promptly dropped the rest of her notices when she saw him. They scattered on the floor. Unexpectedly, she threw her arms around him.

Rigel held her tightly. Some of the weight in his chest lifted a little. More than a little. He smelled her scent, felt her hair on his cheek. Holly…

She pulled away, her hands still on his shoulders, her amazing eyes inspecting his face with concern.

"I heard—I went to the hospital wing and they said you'd been in but you were okay."

"Yeah, I'm fine." He shrugged. "Got tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange, though, the bitch."

Holly's eyes widened and she wordlessly hugged him tightly again.

"I've been looking for you," he told her. "Wanted to see you before we all left tomorrow."

"I'm glad."

"What're you doing?"

"People steal Luna's things because they think it's funny," she said, frowning. "I'm helping her put up notices because she really needs them back."

"I'll help."

"Thank you."


	17. CHAPTER 17: TWICE TAKEN

**CHAPTER 17: TWICE TAKEN**

…

"Family is a source of perpetual refueling that empowers a child to venture with confidence into a greater world and become all he can be."

-Marianne E. Neifert

…

Rigel's Uncle Cal has his usual bench at Platform 9 ¾ waiting for his nephew.

He did not have his usual smile.

"You mother's avoiding you," he growled the moment Rigel had reached him with his trunk. "I know she was at the Ministry that night a week ago because some of the Order's names are in the _Prophet__,_ and it also said "the Boy Who Lived and friends"—which could very well mean your ass. She's not telling me shite. But _you're_ going to start talking, young man, or so help me Merlin. _Why_ is your mother avoiding you?"

"That's between her and me," said Rigel as they got in line to be let off the platform.

"Bullshit," Cal snapped. "No such thing in this family. Start. Talking."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"_Rigel Regulus Black_," Calun snarled under his breath in his most No Bullshit tone. "I do not give a _shite_ about what you _want_ right now. You'll stop being a pissy little teenager or you'll regret it. You will _tell_ me what happened and you will tell me _why_ your mother is so upset and you will do it _now_."

Cal meant business. He'd raised two girls and Rigel to boot. He wasn't to be messed with.

"Fine," he said quickly. "I'll tell you when we get home. If mum's not there."

"She ran into work this morning like the devil was on her tail so I doubt it, but I'm taking you to my house."

They got out into King's Cross and Cal led them out of the station and into the shade of a building. "We're Apparating," he snapped. "Oh of course unless _you'd_ like to do the honors." He glared down at his nephew. "Yeah, your mum _did_ let me in on _that_ little gem of news."

Rigel grimaced. Cal grabbed his hand and his trunk and owl and spun them away into space. Once they had alit behind the big front pine, he strode up the drive like a storm cloud and dumped Rigel's trunk and owl beside the front staircase.

"Come here." He walked into the living room and sat on a couch. Rigel sat slowly beside him. Grace came down from upstairs and silently took a seat in the room as well. Rigel took a deep breath and started explaining the entire story from when Professor Snape had demanded to speak with his mother to his portkey journey back to Hogwarts.

For once his uncle never interrupted him. His Aunt Grace put her hands to her mouth on several occasions, but he mostly ignored her. He didn't want to stop until he was finished now he'd got going.

When he was done the two were quiet for about half a minute.

"Are you hungry?" Cal asked him. "I was going to make some Mexican."

"Yeah," replied Rigel, as relief for not being further drilled and affection for Cal flowed through him. He realized he hadn't eaten much substantial in days. "I'll help."

"I trust you'll apologize for what you did to your mother, Ri," said his uncle as he stood.

Rigel's gaze found the floor. "I will. I'm sorry."

Cal grunted. "Tell _her_. Now. Let's make some enchiladas."

…

It was pouring rain when Lenna Apparated into Cal's yard; she had to sprint to the porch and she still got pretty drenched. She opened the door and hung her wet cloak in the front closet. As she was doing so Rigel walked to greet her.

She turned, wringing her ponytail out, and seemed to size him up. "Professor Snape told me you Apparated to the Ministry. Sure you're not missing any fingernails?"

"I don't think so."

"I splinched three toes my first try, you know."

"I know."

"I smell something spicy."

"Cal and I made some Mexican. There's some leftover, if you're hungry."

"I ordered some food at the office."

"Okay." He followed her into the living room where she dropped onto one of the couches.

"Work's been busy."

"Mum."

"Yes, Rigel."

"I'm sorry. I'm really sorry."

"I know. But thank you. I'm sorry, too."

"Thanks."

Lenna rolled her eyes. Rigel scooted closer to her. "I—I was really upset. I'd never had to deal with—anything like that before. But I shouldn't have done that to you."

"For one thing, it left me defenseless. Not smart."

"Sorry."

"Rigel, I'm going to try. I'm going to try to let you go plunging into danger and not stop you. Or—at least—stop you less often. But you've got to be patient with me. It's not because I don't think your terribly skilled at dueling—which I know you are—or that you're not old enough or something. You got out of Severus' personal sealant charm, Apparated at fourteen, and then took on countless Death Eaters without a scratch. Not to inflate you ego, but that's pretty goddamn impressive. It is because I am obsessed with your well-being to the point where I should probably be institutionalized."

Rigel laughed a little.

"Your father didn't get to be too terribly much older than you are now," Lenna continued on a more solemn note. "But I have been hell-bent since the moment you were born to do everything I can to make sure that you get to live out your natural lifespan. This silly little goal is of tremendous importance to me. And it is _difficult_ when you are hell-bent on risking it."

"I know."

Lenna sighed. "Alright, then. Now. Are you alright?" Her tone was wrapped in concern and love. He'd just lost his uncle and she hadn't been able to comfort him yet. Rigel moved close so that she could put an arm around his shoulders

"I don't know. It hurts."

"It's going to hurt for a while."

"It shouldn't have happened."

"Death never seems to."

"I barely got any time with him."

"I know. That's the worst of it." She held him tightly. He brushed away some tears roughly.

"It's not fair, Mum… Why am I not… Why am I not allowed to have…"

"I don't know." Her own tears dripped down onto his head. "I don't know, Rigel."


	18. CHAPTER 18: THE IMAGINED PRIVATE LIFE OF

**CHAPTER 18: THE IMAGINED PRIVATE LIFE OF SEVERUS SNAPE**

…

"Whatever else is unsure in this stinking dunghill of a world, a mother's love is not."

-James Joyce

…

"**T**his is depressing."

"Tell me about it. I had to come here for an interview a week ago and I couldn't believe it." Lenna looked around Diagon Alley sadly.

It was terribly less crowded than usual. Large, dark purple Ministry posters had been pasted over windows that used to contain bright displays of spellbooks, cauldrons, and broomsticks. They bore blown-up inscriptions of safety advice the Prophet had been printing over the summer or moving black-and-white photographs of known Death Eaters at large. There were some windows boarded up, and though Rigel had heard about Olivander going missing, he was shocked to see Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor boarded up and abandoned as well.

"The Ice Cream Parlor…"

"I know."

Shabby-looking temporary stalls had sprung up along the sides of the street, selling protective merchandise.

Lenna scowled at the hawker manning one of the stalls they passed in distaste. "This is the kind of thing Arthur cleans up now he's been promoted."

"Nothing they sell works," Rigel muttered. He looked at the clumps of anxious, harried-looking witches and wizards doing some speedy shopping. "I think we're the only group of two here, mum."

"People feel safer in big groups," said Lenna. "Luckily for us, anyone who tried to take us on would be in for a surprise."

Rigel smirked.

"Alright, Madam Malkins first." She opened the door for him. When they'd purchased new sets of school robes for Rigel and a nice new crimson-colored daywear set for Lenna, they went down into Flourish and Blotts. Lenna quite liked this store and she browsed for new reading material as Rigel went around and collected the books off his list he'd need for his fifth year.

"Do you need any new potions kits?"

"Nope."

"Well, what else? Oh, here's the Owl Emporium, should we get some owl nuts?"

"Yeah, I ran out a bit ago."

They got two boxes; one for home, one for Rigel to take to school.

"It's a good thing I pulled out a lot of gold from Gringotts the minute the security started getting worse at the beginning of the summer," commented Lenna, gazing at the large white building where there was sure to be a very long, slow-moving line inside. "It should last a while."

Rigel nodded. "I do need some new phials, though, mum. Can we stop in the Apothecary for those?"

"Yep."

As they passed a broomstick store to get to the Apothecary, Rigel stepped up to gaze past the Ministry poster in the window.

"Can't we move up the year I get a Firebolt to this year?" he asked with longing in his voice. Lenna shook her head, amused.

"No. That's your graduation present seeing as you've already got a very nice wristwatch."

"What if there's a better model out by then?"

"They I guess you'll get that one then, won't you?" She smiled at him.

After they got Rigel some more school essentials and his list was taken care of, they went through some stores just to browse. Lenna bought a lovely new candle set for Grace for her birthday, a new quill set for herself, and because Astronomy had always been a hobby of hers, a new book full of enchanted pictures of the wonders of space. Rigel bought a few new music albums and lingered over some wizard's chess sets. They were rather pricey.

"I don't think you have to get one, since Holly and Ron both have them. Maybe for your birthday," said Lenna.

He nodded. None of the sets had really caught his eye.

As they walked toward the end of the street, they both stared at the brilliantly bright shop, standing out from the rest of the street.

"That's it!" Rigel cried excitedly. "That's Fred and George's joke shop! Weasley's Wizard Wheezes!"

"Wow," Lenna laughed. "It's incredible. And actually crowded."

Rigel pulled her into the store. It was crammed with products, colorful, and noisy. They didn't know what to look at first. Lenna made sure Rigel didn't leave her sight, however; even in a cheery place like this it made her anxious not to be able to see him.

Skiving Snackboxes, trick wands, enchanted quills, toys, Daydream Charms, Muggle magic trick novelties, love potions, miniature puffskeins… It was endless. Rigel gazed around at it all while his mom, meanwhile, had spotted Fred and had given him a hug, complimenting him on the shop. They came up to Rigel and then George joined them, who also received a hug from Lenna.

"How're you doing, Rigel?" George asked.

"Alright. This place is really great, George. It's George, right? Okay good. Anyway, the magic that went into a lot of this stuff is _really_ impressive—and it's nice to have one place on Diagon Alley that isn't depressing."

"Right? People need a laugh, we reckon," said Fred. "George, will you show them around? Sorry, but we're so busy—"

"That's really okay," Lenna said quickly, grinning. "I'm glad business is so good for you!"

"Here, I'll show you where we make the real money right now," George said, leading them through the shop to the back. "It was sort of an accident, how it happened, but what we've been working on recently is a much more serious line of products. Stuff for defense, but not shoddy stuff like enchanted amulets and whatnot—we developed Shield Hats as a joke—y'know dare your friends to jinx you and it'll bounce off—but then the Ministry bought five hundred for all its support staff! We're still getting huge orders, so we expanded to Shield Cloaks, Shield Gloves…and we started diving into Dark Arts defense because the money's so good… Look here, Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder. And here, Decoy Detonators—those are disappearing from the shelves almost faster than we can get 'em up."

Rigel looked around at this back room, its shelves with somber products.

"Just don't make this your whole shop—it's depressing," he commented. George laughed.

"Not a chance."

"How powerful are the Shield Charms on these?"

"For minor or moderate hexes or jinxes, they won't touch you. Won't do much against an Unforgivable, but handy if you're taken by surprise."

"Sure."

"Well, I should be getting back, but there's an Order member discount, so browse away," said George, and he left the back room, winking.

Rigel and his mom continued to look at everything and Lenna ended up buying some joke candy to use on Cal and Rigel bought a small assorted Snackbox, a Self-Inking quill, and he and Lenna both went in on one of the priciest items in the store: a candy assortment that transformed the eater into different animals. They chose the Jungle version and were going to split them.

"Did McGonagall help you with these?" Rigel asked Fred as they paid.

"Actually, no. The woman probably would have thought we were trying to become illegal Animagi. No, we learned that magic out of books, if you can believe it or not. And it took us over a range of months, let me tell you… Also, I have to warn you—full-body transformation's a bit, er, shocking the first time."

"Is it painful?" Lenna asked, who was planning to use her half to amuse Cal, Grace and their kids.

"No," Fred shook his head, "but disorienting. Your body's suddenly made differently."

Lenna nodded, thanked him and complimented him on the store one last time, but as she and Rigel walked out she said, "I should probably test them before I give them to the girls just in case. I wouldn't want them to be frightened."

"Yeah. How long's it last?"

"Well, it comes with a bag of chews that will undo the magic instantly, but the transformation lasts about twenty minutes—it says on the package."

Rigel nodded.

"I was thinking about eating lunch here, Ri, seeing as this place does seem to be getting enough business. Or at the Leaky Cauldron, but the food up here at Circe's Tavern's better."

"That sounds good. I've never been in there."

Lenna was shrinking their bag from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes as she'd done to their other bags, and then put it in her purse. She led him down the street and into Circe's.

The place smelled appetizing—like exotic spices—and the food on plates around the small restaurant looked good. There were photographs and knickknacks on the walls; one shelf along half a wall contained an array of crystal balls that reflected the light. Stained glass lamps hung low over the tables and there was a well-kept bar along one side.

"It's Divination-themed," Lenna told him as they were brought to a table.

Rigel nodded. "But not like Trelawney does it. It's more old-fashioned than that. I like it." He picked up the menu that was on the table for him. "So what's good at this place?"

"Their pressed sandwiches, broccoli and cheddar soup, and any of the pasta plates are quite good," she replied, browsing the menu herself. "They have a grilled chicken sandwich with tomatoes, onions, cheese, and a special sauce on toasted bread that's very good—that's what I think I'm going to get. I wouldn't get a salad, here, though—they're very unusual. You won't see any ingredients you recognize."

Rigel was nodding. When they waiter got to them, Lenna ordered her sandwich and a side of broccoli and cheddar soup with some tea, and Rigel got a roast beef sandwich with the baked chips on the side.

"So when can I go back to the Weasley's again?" Rigel asked.

"After Harry gets there. You're sharing Fred and George's old room with him."

Rigel bounced a little in his seat.

The Weasley's home had become the Order's temporary headquarters since Sirius Black had died. Sirius had put in his will that the house would go to Harry, but since if that will wasn't binding, the house would actually go to Bellatrix Lestrange, as a precaution everyone had vacated the place. Rigel had spent a week at the Weasley's a few weeks ago, with Lenna popping in and out, and wanted to go back. He'd quite liked the experience of a magical home so different from his own or Grace and Cal's. They had an interesting, tottering house, lots of yard space, chickens, and gnomes in their untidy garden. Rigel had spent his time getting better at wizard's chess under Ron's tutelage and playing Quidditch with him and Ginny. At the end of the week Hermione too had arrived to stay the remainder of break there. And apparently Bill Weasley's fiancé Fleur Delacour—the Baubattons Champion from the Triwizard Tournament in Rigel's third year—was coming to stay for a few days but she hadn't arrived quite yet; no one seemed to be overly excited about the prospect of her arrival but Ron.

Rigel also had spent some time asking Mr. Weasley about what it was like to work at the Ministry whenever he came back from work, and in turn had answered some of Mr. Weasley's questions about Muggle habits and appliances.

"Was Severus ever over at the Weasley's?" Lenna asked him.

Rigel shook his head. "No, I never saw him or heard of him visiting. Which is strange because all the other members would pop in and out…maybe because he's also a Death Eater they don't want him coming? They're probably stricter about security around their home than they were about Grimmauld Place."

"Still, it's like he's not a true member," said Lenna. "No one trusts him, yet he was the one who alerted Dumbledore to come to the Ministry at the end of last year—which saved all of our butts." She frowned at her tea unhappily.

"Maybe we should go visit him," Rigel offered, face brightening.

Lenna pursed her lips. "I don't know. That might not be appropriate. He hasn't written or contacted. We can't just show up at his doorstep. Wherever he lives. I don't even know where that is."

"I bet Dumbledore would tell us if we wrote him. But—yeah, I think you're right. He'd be wigged out." Rigel snickered at the image of Severus' surprised face. For some reason he was in a black bathrobe in the image.

"What's so funny?"

"Professor Snape in a bathrobe…" Rigel chuckled.

"I'm missing something," Lenna giggled. "That's an interesting picture, though. Severus Snape at home… Maybe he privately wears his hair in a ponytail like Bill's and plays the drums."

Rigel guffawed with laughter, picturing his Potions professor looking like a punk in a basement, pounding away on an enormous drum set.

"No, mum," he replied, wiping his eyes, "he'd totally play bass."

Lenna covered her mouth with her hands and laughed. Their waitress came up and placed some bread and dip on the table; they contained themselves until she had walked away and then bust into uncontrollable laughter again.

"Shades."

"Duh. What if he has six cats?"

"What if he's a hipster with sweaters and thick-rimmed glasses and a collection of old Gryphon Claw records?"

"What if he sings karaoke at Muggle bars? What if he—"

"No—no more, I want to eat!" Lenna was laughing harder than she had in weeks.

Rigel took a big bite of bread, grinning. "If it wouldn't incur his terrifying wrath," he said after he had swallowed, "I would make cartoons."

Lenna giggled into her hand.


	19. CHAPTER 19: BEST WE'VE GOT

**CHAPTER 19: BEST WE'VE GOT**

…

"A good friend is a connection to life—a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world."

-Lois Wyse

…

"**H**arry's already been there for days—I barely have a week left of break—let's _go_, Mum!"

Lenna grumbled to herself as she heaved a duffle bag out of her room and took it towards the front door.

"Okay, okay. Cloaks? Hats?"

"Got it all."

Lenna got her traveling cloak out of the front closet and pulled on some sturdy shoes.

"Dinah has her self-replenishing food dish," said Rigel, "my bedroom window is open for Tori and Sir Gawain, the lights are off, the mandibus is trimmed and watered, and I made sure you didn't forget your pajamas like you always do. We're all set, Mum. Your purse?"

"Right. Um…"

"The bathroom, I think."

"Right." She scooted into the bathroom to grab it. "Okay."

"Let's _go_."

"Alright, alright." She looked the door behind them as they left and then Lenna Apparated them both to the outskirts of the Weasley's home in Ottery St. Catchpole.

Rigel took his mother's bags as well as his and then sped off for their house as quick as he could go. Lenna grinned to herself as she watched him and ambled up to the rather crooked house more leisurely. She was quite looking forward to staying with the Weasleys too. The Order had become like her second family, and though she wasn't staying the night because Mrs. Weasley already had a crowded house, she was going to spend the days here until Rigel left for his fifth year at school.

Rigel had disappeared upstairs with the other kids when Lenna came in. She hugged Molly and Tonks who was in Molly's kitchen with her hands around a cup of tea. She looked down—her hair was a mousy brown and her eyes distant. Lenna didn't pry about her gloomy mood and Tonks stayed for about ten minutes more and then left the Weasley's house.

Lenna sat with Molly and got filled in on everything of import that had happened since she'd last checked in here. Lenna noticed that Molly too looked a tad worse for the wear: lines of worry and fear shadowed her face. She and Arthur were both being followed when they left the house and things hadn't been easy. Lenna knew that there were a lot of wizarding families that, now that the truth about Voldemort's return was widely acknowledged, wanted to keep their families together by not allowing their children to return to school. Even Muggle parents could tell things were wrong. Their news had been horrible lately as well. Lenna couldn't help thinking that Molly might be one of these mothers if not for her trust in Dumbledore and involvement in the Order.

Lenna knew Hogwarts was a target and had been a hazardous place to be ever since Harry Potter began his first year. But Rigel had to go to school, and she was confident in his common sense and his ability to defend himself. This was going to be a frightening year. The wizarding world's old threat hung over them once again, and things seemed just as they were then again. The repetition of history made Lenna a little sick.

"And Miss Fleur Delacour is staying with us," Molly mentioned. Her lips had gotten thin.

"Bill's fiancé?"

"Mm."

"What's she like?"

"Oh, you'll find out. _Mostly_ she doesn't like cooking or cleaning or helping with the chickens or the gardening."

Lenna chuckled. She remembered Fleur's picture from the _Prophet's_ cover of the Triwizard Tournament. She was a beautiful blonde girl. Probably a bit full of herself.

"She was just out for a walk and probably will be coming back in any minute…" Molly was saying as the kids all trampled down the stairs.

"We're going to go play Quidditch," Rigel told them both brightly, pulling on his shoes, his broom under his arm. "Ginny and I both want to try out for Chaser next year and…"

He trailed off because Fleur Delacour had just come in the back door. Rigel closed his mouth slowly, staring. Ginny turned to look at him and she grimaced, rolling her eyes.

"'Ello," Fleur greeted, smiling winningly at him as she walked toward them. "You must be zat leetle boy arriving soon zat 'Arry was talking about."

"Rigel," he said in a rather hoarse voice, sticking out a hand. Fleur laughed tinklingly, shaking her head at that silly English greeting, and pushed it gently aside to step in and give him a light kiss on the cheek.

Rigel's eyes were quite wide and he cleared his throat a tiny bit. He'd seen this girl only at a distance in his third year. "And you must be Fleur. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"You are too sweet. My seester Gabrielle will find you _charmant_."

Rigel didn't know how to respond to that. Luckily Ginny stepped in.

"Well, we were all going outside to get terribly muddy playing Quidditch, so we'll see you in a bit, Fleur," she asserted and steered Rigel outside with a hand around his upper arm.

"Men," she muttered under her breath when they got out into open air.

"She's part Veela," Ron explained.

"No shite," Rigel replied.

"How'd you manage to say something when she's giving you the full blast like that?"

"I tried to imagine she had an enormous mole on her face," said Rigel. "And five more enormous moles on her face."

Ginny laughed and they mounted their brooms.

…

It would have been a happy and peaceful last week of holiday if it wasn't for the stories of disappearances, accidents, and deaths now appearing almost daily in the Prophet. Sometimes Bill, Mr. Weasley, or Lenna brought home news before it even reached the paper.

"There've been a couple of Dementor attacks," Lupin reported grimly, arriving late to dinner. "And they've found Igor Karkaroff's body in a shack up north. The Dark Mark had been set over it—well, frankly, I'm surprised he stayed alive for even a year after deserting the Death Eaters; Regulus only managed a few…" He trailed off, glancing at Rigel. "Er, days."

"Hours, more like," Rigel replied nonchalantly, helping himself to a second helping of shepherd's pie. "Becoming a Death Eater means a life sentence or death. There's no quitting—unless of course You-Know-Who is destroyed."

His speech sounded so casual as he salted his food that when he looked up he was being stared at. He pointed his fork at Hermione. "So don't become a Death Eater."

She sniggered. "Rigel's public service announcement of the day."

"That's right."

All Harry seemed to want to talk about when they were upstairs together was the odd behavior of Draco Malfoy that he, Ron, and Hermione had witnessed when they went to Diagon Alley the week before. He was convinced Malfoy was up to something significant, and that, in place of his father, he had become a Death Eater.

Hermione and Ron had tried to argue that Voldemort wouldn't want a kid like Draco, but Rigel had replied that his father had become a Death Eater while still in school. But he had tried to caution Harry against taking any action before he found out more.

Sooner than Rigel wanted, it was their last day of break and he had to wash his clothes and pack for the coming year. Since Harry had been given top security status, they'd been given Ministry cars and Aurors would be waiting for them at the station. Mrs. Weasley wanted the trunks ready that night.

Fleur kissed both Harry and Rigel the next morning as they were leaving and gave them a throaty "Au revoir." At King's Cross Station two bearded, grim-faced Aurors in dark Muggle suits waited and flanked them without speaking as they made their way to the barrier.

Lenna squeezed Rigel goodbye. "Have a good term…" she said. "Go to Minerva or Severus if you have any problems. _Attempt_ to stay out of trouble."

Rigel smirked. "Bye, Mum."

Harry motioned to Ron and Hermione to follow him up the platform, looking for an empty compartment.

"We can't, Harry," said Hermione, looking apologetic. "Ron and I've got to go to the prefects' carriage first and then patrol the corridors for a bit."

"Oh yeah, I forgot," said Harry.

"I'll come with you, Harry," said Rigel.

"Get straight on the train, all of you, you've only got a few minutes to go," said Mrs. Weasley, consulting her watch. "Well, have a lovely term, Ron…"

"Mr. Weasley, can I have a quick word?" said Harry rather suddenly.

"Of course," said Mr. Weasley, who looked surprised, but he followed Harry out of earshot of the others nevertheless.

Rigel got on the train without him, following Ginny. He turned and waved goodbye to his mom before going down the train toward where Ginny was standing and chatting with some friends, checking the compartments for Abraxas, Scott, or Holly as he went. He saw a boy from his dorm in one of the compartments and stopped to catch up briefly.

Harry jumped onto the train right before it started moving and passed Rigel as he walked up to Ginny and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Fancy trying to find a compartment?"

"I can't, Harry, I said I'd meet Dean," she said brightly. "See you later."

She walked away, her red hair dancing behind her, as Rigel came up to him. The girls Ginny had been talking to were staring, mesmerized, at Harry who barely seemed to notice. Rigel squeezed through and offered to him, "I'll sit with you."

He turned and just then noticed the ogling girls surrounding them.

"Uh…"

"Hi, Harry!" said a familiar voice from behind them.

"Neville!" greeted Harry, turning to see the round-faced boy struggling toward them.

"Hello, Harry," said a girl with long blonde hair and large misty eyes who was just behind Neville.

"Luna, hi, how are you?"

"Very well, thank you," said Luna. She was clutching a magazine to her chest; large letters on the front announced that there was a free pair of Spectrespecs inside.

"_Quibbler_ still going strong, then?"

"Oh yes, circulation's well up. Hello, Rigel."

"Hi, Luna, have you seen Holly?"

"No, I haven't. Are you looking for her?"

"I just wondered if you'd seen her… Let's find seats."

The four of them set off along the train through hordes of staring students. At last, they found an empty compartment and Harry led them all inside gratefully.

"They're even staring at _us_!" said Neville. "Because we're with you!"

"They're staring at you because you were at the Ministry too," said Harry as he hoisted his trunk onto the luggage rack. "Our little adventure there was all over the Daily Prophet, you must have seen it."

"Yes, I thought Gran would be angry about all the publicity, but she was really pleased. Says I'm starting to live up to my dad at long last. She bought me a new wand, look!"

He pulled it out and showed it to them.

"Cherry and unicorn hair. We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold, he vanished the next day—oi, come back here, Trevor!" He dived under the seat to retrieve his toad.

The glass door to their compartment slid open and Abraxas and Scott leaned in, grinning.

"There you are, mate," said Scott. "We've been looking. Got here late, didn' you?"

"A bit."

Scott raised a hand in greeting at the other three in the compartment. "I'm Scott. Ri, you coming or d'you wanna stay? We could all join—"

"Nah, I'll come. I got time with Harry over break but I barely heard from you two gits," he smirked. Scott rolled his eyes and he and Brax helped Rigel take his trunk and owl out of the compartment.

"Bye, Harry," Rigel said. "I'll see you at the feast."

Harry nodded, then Luna asked him a question, and Rigel followed his friends out and to their compartment towards the front.

"Wait, you spent your break with _Potter_?" Abraxas asked him.

"Only a couple weeks of it. I was invited to go stay at his friends' house with him. We're all friends from the D.A.—you know, that club you two were too lazy to come to with me."

Abraxas looked apologetic but Scott snorted. "And give myself another class after hours? No chance. So how was it? What's the bloke like?"

"He's just a guy. I used to see him as this sort of celebrity, but really he's just really normal."

"Hm. The _Prophet's_ spinning how he's the Chosen One and whatnot…says he defeated You-Know-Who as a baby and every time he's confronted him since…they're saying he's the one meant to destroy him for good."

Rigel shrugged, sitting down in their compartment. "I don't even think Harry or anyone knows if that's the truth or not. But Harry's done everything he can to try and thwart You-Know-Who, and he's still trying to help—he's not some sort of symbol. He's a real person whose parents were murdered and who keeps escaping You-Know-Who, whether through luck or help or fate. So, besides Dumbledore, he's the best thing we've got."

"Have you seen Holly yet?" Abraxas asked him.

"No, I haven't."

"We saw her with her mum at the station earlier," he said. "Did you two write over the summer?"

"Only a bit," Rigel sighed. "And only friend stuff."

"Oh, be careful there, mate," Scott muttered, looking grim. "You can get stuck as her friend and that'll be that."

"I know. I'm working on it. Have you done anything about Ceridwen?"

"Er…yeah, I have." He looked guilty.

"Wait what? When?" Rigel demanded.

"Right before we got on the train at the end of last year. She was talking to me, asking if she could write me, and I told her, y'know, 'I think you're a good person, but I don't want to date you.' So I've given her the whole summer to come around to that. And I thought that was the best way to do it instead of saying it, for instance now, when we'd have to deal with her being pissed about it while we're all at school together."

"Actually, that probably was the best way," said Rigel.

Brax nodded. "I hope she's over you."

"Merlin, so do I, mate. Last thing I want is to make shite hard for you, Ri." He grimaced.

Rigel shook his head. "It's not your fault, you didn't encourage her any."

"I'm just too damn handsome," lamented Scott, no hint of humor in his expression. They laughed and then he broke into a grin.


	20. CHAPTER 20: TURN, TURN, TURN

**CHAPTER 20: TURN, TURN, TURN**

..

"All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another."  
>-Anatole France<p>

…

**P**otter turned on his heel away from Severus Snape where they stood glaring at one another by Hogwarts' oak front doors and strode into the Great Hall, blood covering the lower half of his face and his clothes unchanged into school robes. He would no doubt be stared at.

Always getting into trouble, always in the wrong places, always thinking he's in the right…just like his arrogant git of a father…

"Professor Snape!"

Severus blinked and realized there was a familiar boy standing to left outside the open doors to the Great Hall, his hand raised in greeting. Severus walked toward Rigel Black and the boy's expression upon seeing him worked a sort of transformation. Rigel's face was open and honest, a little flushed, and genuinely pleased to see him.

Severus' eyes fell on Rigel's right arm—and some of his right side. His clothes were burned through and the flesh of his arms singed and raw.

"What happened to you?" he asked.

Rigel seemed wholly unconcerned about the wounds. "Peeves threw a candelabra at a little first-year and I took the blow for her. It was all very thrilling and _vaillant_. Peeves got towed off by the Bloody Baron and McGonagall gave me thirty House points. That puts Ravenclaw in the lead even before pudding!" He laughed a little. "But because Madam Pomfrey's up at the staff table, McGonagall had to go get her."

"Let me see your arm."

Rigel held it out for him obediently, and Severus siphoned off the wax and sooty wick from  
>Rigel's skin and clothing and then healed his wounds. He erased the blood and then mended his clothes. Minerva and Madam Pomfrey came through the doors just as he was finishing.<p>

"I've already seen to Mr. Albeney," he told them. Minerva huffed a little but Madam Pomfrey simply gave Rigel a once-over, found his arm in perfect condition, and then returned to the feast. McGonagall shook her head at the pointlessness of fetching the nurse and then followed her back in.

"How was your summer, Professor?" Rigel asked him. Severus' lips thinned with amusement. There wasn't another student in the school that would dare ask him such a friendly question. But he gazed up at Severus with such trust and friendliness that not only was it was impossible to be annoyed by him, but Severus suddenly felt his heart constrict; in that moment he realized something.

He had agreed to do as Dumbledore wanted—to take the old wizard's life himself and therefore save Draco Malfoy from harming his own soul by committing murder, Dumbledore from the pain and humiliation of a death at any other Eater's hands, and himself from the Dark Lord's mistrust. He had been prepared to do this heavy deed because he cared next to nothing for what the Order thought of him. He lived for one purpose alone: working the wheels that would ensure Lily Evan's son's well-being. But he realized in that moment that some things had changed. There were two people now…two people in the Order he would regret earning the hatred and condemnation of. Rigel and his mother would despise him after doing what he had to do for them all…and he realized…that would hurt him.

"Full of events not for your ears, Mr. Black," he replied, his voice low so that the name he called Rigel by, which, though it sounded formal, had a meaning behind it that made it into an endearment. "Now get some dessert before you miss the feast entirely."

"Yes, sir," said Rigel, and gave him a fond half-smile before slipping into the Great Hall. Severus stared after him, troubled. It was too easy to care about that boy. And his mother…

Lenna Black had crossed his mind too often over the past few months. He could still feel the pressure of her warm hand as she squeezed his own tightly in thanks for a moment in time. His feelings confused him. He simply didn't know anymore how to care for another woman. There had only been one for as long as he could remember, and there wasn't room for anything else. There couldn't be anything else. He didn't want anything else.

No, that must be untrue. His own jumbled emotions gave that much away… Unbidden, thoughts of her came to him and they lingered. They prickled with guilt, or they made heat flash on his skin, or they simply surfaced and swirled in his head. She was fascinating and strangely accessible because of their pasts. He used to be protective of her well-being in the name of his old friend. Now…now he was protective of her for himself.

What did that mean? He didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to ignore his own emotions in the hopes that they would fade away in that neglect. His life had a pattern and a set state. He was as if carved from stone; unchanging and on a course. Playing the part he had to play until death took him—just like Regulus had. He didn't want to be confused. He didn't want new and uninvited feelings to upset the balance and purpose his life had. Because who would he be if the things that had come to define him were altered?

Who would he be?

…

"Holly!"

She was in her pajamas on a couch in the common room with Ceridwen when he came down from putting his things up in his dorm.

"Rigel, hi!" She beamed and stood to hug him as he put his arms around her. She looked truly adorable in her soft pajamas.

"I looked for you but I didn't see you at the feast," she said.

"I know, I was really late, and then I saw you at dessert, but then Dumbledore gave his speech, and everyone was leaving, and I lost ya. Your summer was good, yeah?"

"Yes, it was alright. Everything's sort of gotten worse, though, since You-Know-Who returned…"

"I know. Diagon Alley…"

"And the dementor attacks."

He nodded. "Ceridwen, you're well?"

She nodded. He gave her a bit of a searching look for a moment and she stared inscrutably back.

"That's good." He reclined on the couch next to Holly and began talking about the news: Professor Snape teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts instead of Potions this year. Luna drew close to them as well and listened quietly to their conversation as the room darkened and it was only the fireplace and the lanterns in the walls that lit it. Rigel boldly ended up taking a pillow, placing it on Holly's lap, and then putting his head in her lap. He was talking all the while and as he continued, he felt her fingertips gently run through his hair.

This light touch continued as the conversation slowly trailed off as Ceridwen and the Luna went up to bed. Rigel then turned and looked up at the girl he was in love with, his head in her lap.

"I'd like to take you out sometime," he said softly. "If you'd like that."

A slow smile spread over her lips. "Yes, I would like that."

"Alright." He closed his eyes and luxuriated in the feeling of her hand running through his hair until she said she was tired and they parted ways for the separate dorms.

…

Because of this recent leap with Holly, Quidditch team tryouts had become a bit unnecessary, but Rigel went to them anyway to gauge where his skill level was.

He flew decently and worked well with the Chasers from last year, but they flew exceptionally and none of the Chasers had graduated, so there wasn't really an opening. But Bradley did compliment Rigel by telling him that if they did need new Chasers, he was one of the two best for the position.

The Gryffindor tryout proved a vast deal more interesting. He'd asked Ginny when it was to be held so he could come watch—and it was a circus. Harry was the new Captain this year and the first thing he had everyone do in the enormous mass of students who had assembled to try out—which was a brilliant decision considering the results—was to split into groups of ten and take turns simply flying once around the pitch. The first ten was made up of first-years who obviously had hardly ever flown before; only one boy managed to remain airborne for more than a few seconds, and he was so surprised he promptly crashed into one of the goal posts.

Rigel had brought Abraxas with him, and Brax laughed heartily into his elbow as the first-year flopped to the ground.

The second group was comprised of ten extraordinarily silly girls who, when Harry blew the whistle to take off, merely fell about giggling and clutching one another. Rigel had to stuff his fists against his face to keep from snorting aloud in mirth; they weren't far up the stands from the pitch and it might have offended some of his Gryffindor friends.

The third group had a pileup halfway around the pitch. Most of the forth group had come without broomsticks. The fifth group were Hufflepuffs.

"If there's anyone else here who's not from Gryffindor," roared Harry, "leave now, please!"

There was a pause, then a couple of tiny Ravenclaws sprinted off the pitch, snorting with laughter.

"Giving us a bad name," Brax muttered, shaking his head, still grinning with amusement.

"This is such a _riot_," Rigel managed amid a fit of silent laughter.

Things started to heat up, however, when the real players began to showcase themselves. Rigel was actually a bit dismayed to see how excellent the three Chasers Harry found were—though he could in no way be dismayed that Ginny had out-flown all the competition and scored seventeen goals as well.

"Wow," said Abraxas, impressed. "That red-haired girl is Ron Weasley's sister, right?"

"Yeah."

"She's very pretty. And talented."

"Yeah, but I think she and Harry have a sort of thing. Or had a thing. Or maybe will have a thing. I'm not exactly sure."

"I think she's dating that black Gryffindor sixth-year, though, isn't she? Thomas, I think?"

"Yeah, Dean Thomas."

"Is Harry okay with that?"

"I dunno. Ron's Harry's mate and so maybe that keeps him from dating her? I don't really know. I don't think there's an issue, but I've noticed some—y'know—sexual tension around the two. I think Hermione has too."

"Huh. Bet all those giggly girls wish they were her."

Rigel laughed.


	21. CHAPTER 21: OVER BUTTERBEER

**CHAPTER 21: OVER BUTTERBEER**

…

"_Honest, let's make this night last forever_"

-Blink-182, First Date

…

**I**f it weren't for having spent a year already being friends with her, Rigel probably would have been nervous as hell on their first official date. As it was, his palms were still rather sweaty as he waited for her at the bar of the Three Broomsticks on the first Hogsmeade trip of the year.

It was snowing outside and windy, so the walk here had been a bit blinding and freezing. The Three Broomsticks, however, was blissfully warm and cozy.

He beamed when he saw her and then looked away so it wouldn't look like he had been staring at the door waiting for her. She had snow in her hair and on her coast, and she shook it off of her as she came toward him.

"Hi, Rigel," she murmured. She sounded shy. It made his heart bubble with adoration.

"Hey." He grinned and handed her one of the butterbeers he'd already bought. "Here."

"Thanks."

"Let's find a table."

They found a corner table with a cozy, curving booth—one Rigel had seen people kissing at ever since third year. He did not, however, take the liberty with Holly.

Conversation flowed easily between them and they sat quite close facing one another on the curving seat, sipping their drinks. They talked of school, of their new classes, a little of Quidditch, and about the recent disappearances and attacks.

"Ceridewn's parents are Muggles but they're getting the _Prophet_ delivered to them now because it explains what's happened better than their own news can," Holly told him. "A bridge collapsed and I forget what the Muggle officials blamed it on but it was Death Eater anti-Muggle terrorism, of course. And the strangeness of the weather because of the dementors breeding is only explainable by our news as well—theirs is going on about climate change…"

Rigel was nodded. "Yeah, my Uncle Cal watches the Muggle news a lot. He and my mum were raised pretty Muggle because my Grandma is and my Grandpa's a wizard who chose to take up Muggle schooling and a Muggle job."

"Huh." Holly seemed a bit amused by this. "What're your grandparents like?"

"Well my mum's dad's great—he's like my uncle except quieter. He really likes to work with his hands and he knows a lot—both Muggle and magical stuff. My Grandma Marisa's kind of—well, nothing much seems to make her too happy, but she keeps the little ones in line and she's got a lot of backbone; it must be where my mum gets all hers. Like, if Grandma Marisa was tortured for information no one would get a jolt out of her. I don't think she ever really approved of my dad, though she hardly knew everything about him. But she's been a good grandma to me." He shrugged.

"What about your dad's parents?"

"They're dead and I never knew them."

"Why not?"

"Because my dad's family and my mum's family wouldn't have gotten on."

"Oh."

"You know your dad's parents?"

"Yeah, but my grandma died a few years ago, and my grandparents on my mother's side have passed away too. They had my parents when they were older, like in their thirties."

Rigel nodded. Talking about parents was a little dicey for him. He'd didn't like to have to lie, so he tried to steer the conversation away. He took a drink of butterbeer and then said, "I'm envious of your Transfiguration skill, Holly—it's my worst class. I like Professor McGonagall a lot, but Transfiguration is a bit challenging for me."

She shrugged. "We're all good at different things. You're good at Charms and Potions. And Defense. So…was your dad a Ministry worker? Or was he involved in one of the rebel groups in the war?"

It seemed she would not be steered.

"He didn't work for the Ministry. But…I don't really want to talk about my dad."

"Oh." She was apologetic. "I'm sorry. I just wondered if both our dads worked for the Ministry. That'd be sort of an interesting thing."

"It's okay. Yeah. What did your dad do?"

"He was an Unspeakable." She smiled proudly as she said it and she watched Rigel's eyebrows rise appreciatively.

"That's cool. Although the Department of Mysteries isn't such a mystery to me now what with getting the grand tour at the end of last year."

Holly laughed a little. "No, I suppose it wouldn't be."

"Do you know what Room he worked in?"

Holly was quiet for a moment and then said, "The Hall of Prophesy."

"Huh." Rigel rubbed his chin. "Do you think it's possible that…the reason he was killed was over the same prophesy that the showdown last year was over?"

"I've thought about it. A lot of time has gone by, but it's possible. He was murdered a bit before Harry was born. Is it true that there was one about him and You-Know-Who in the Hall?"

Rigel nodded. "He was handling it, and people can only remove prophesies if it's about them. That's why they needed to lure him there. So, yeah, it must have been something to do with him and Voldemort."

"So it's true, then? He is the one meant to defeat him for good? The Chosen One?"

Rigel frowned. "I don't know for sure, Holly. You-Know-Who wouldn't have needed the prophesy if he knew, and whether or not Harry thinks it's got to be him in the end, he hasn't said to me. But like I told Brax, he's the hero we've got, whether or not he was 'chosen'."

"Is he a good person? Is he worth putting our trust in?"

"Yes," said Rigel very firmly.

"But, I mean, You-Know-Who is a dueling match for even the most skilled witches and wizards…how could a student hope to be a match for him?"

"Well, Harry has sort of never dueled him. Because, you're right, he wouldn't stand a chance. But he's gotten away with that for six years. Maybe that'll be how he does it. I don't know. But he's got Dumbledore helping him too, and Dumbledore has always been able to send You-Know-Who running."

"I know… It's just I feel like a lot of Harry's success has been luck. And that's a bit scary."

Rigel shrugged. "Call it what you will, y'know? Karma, fate, whatever. Good's gonna win out, Holly." He smiled at her. "It's generally how the big picture works."

Her returning smile wasn't sincere. He knew how she felt. They'd both lost fathers in this big picture. Victory often took sacrifice.

"What do you want to do after graduation?" Holly asked him after a sip of butterbeer.

Rigel considered the question. "I could do a lot of things, I think. I'd like to be an Auror…y'know—put away Dark Wizards before they can take somebody else's father from them. And maybe something with magical regulation and law enforcement, but working for the Ministry doesn't appeal to me at the moment so maybe not… I've thought about taking up magical apprenticeships, too. There's so much."

Holly nodded. "Yeah. I don't know, either. I like to write, so I was thinking I could continue studying and maybe end up writing spellbooks. Or teach. I could maybe become a Healer, too. After Dad died my mum saw someone for emotional support and they really helped her through and she still has appointments. And my sis has gotten into a lot of Quidditch accidents and the people at St. Mungo's are always really great with that, too."

"It's not until, what, next year that we start narrowing our focus?"

"Yeah, sixth year."

Rigel nodded. "What's your mum do?"

She's a research and lab assistant to one of the co-authors of the Transfiguration book we use in class." She smiled a little. "Professor McGonagall knows her."

"Aw, that's wicked," Rigel said. "That's where you get your bloody talent."

She grinned at the compliment.

At the end of the evening, he and she stood at the place in the corridors where they were going to part—her to the Ravenclaw common room and him to the Gryffindor one to spend a little time with Harry and the gang before starting on some late homework. They both had small bags in their hands containing purchases from the shops in Hogsmeade.

Rigel gently stroked her right arm with his thumb and gazed at her.

"I had a wonderful time today, Holly."

"I did too."

He smiled. He wanted to kiss her, but was cautious. He thought the best plan of action would be to wait until she made that move. Then he could be sure that she wanted that. Holly leaned forward and he kept still, his blood humming with warmth. She kissed him softly on the cheek.

"Goodnight, Rigel," she murmured, her skin brushing his, her words almost tangible in his ear.

"Goodnight, Holly."


	22. CHAPTER 22: INVITATION

**CHAPTER 22: INVITATION**

…

"What really counts is what happened before the public story: that moment, more of pulse than of thought, which goes, 'Yes, perhaps her,' and 'Yes, perhaps him.'"

-Julia Barns, _Pulse_

…

"**I**t doesn't look like Kreacher's touched this place," Lenna muttered, walking through the halls of Grimmauld for the first time since Sirius had died.

Molly shook her head, her expression sour. "The vermin… As I understand it, Albus came here after it had been proven that the estate and elf had passed to Harry and put a very many new strictures on what the elf's allowed to do and say to people outside the Order to make sure that something like what—what happened to Sirius doesn't happen again. Even blockades in his head against the Dark Lord gathering any information from him. And since, he's shut himself up in his cubby and hates everyone even more than he already did, I'm sure."

Lenna grimaced. She resented the hatred and ignorance on Kreacher's part that had lead him to betray Sirius, but knew that if anyone was to reach the elf, it probably could only be her or Rigel, and since Rigel was at school—and probably resented the elf even more so than she did—the task fell to her.

"I'll try to talk to him."

Molly "mm"ed in response. Kingsley Shaklebolt stood from the dusty kitchen table as they entered and handed Molly some papers she perused. While they talked Order business, Lenna began to magically clean the place. When she had made her way upstairs, she grasped the tarnished brass handle of Kreacher's small nest space and went in.

Meanwhile, Severus Snape entered Grimmauld Place and found Kingsley, whom he needed to speak with. He quickly related the news he'd come to share and stood to leave.

"Thank you, Severus," Kingsley said in his deep voice. Severus nodded.

Speaking to Kingsley, Molly said, "We should catch Lenna up on this."

Severus paused. "Lenna's well, I assume."

Molly nodded. "I don't know anything to the contrary. She's upstairs."

Severus nodded as if this was unimportant news but instead of continuing down the front hallway and out the front door, he paused at the threshold, debating with himself, and then gave into his desire to see her and climbed the stairs.

Her voice drifted toward him from inside a small storage space he knew to be Kreacher's lair. In the shadow of the unlit hall he stood outside and listened to her soft voice.

"We'll clean up in here while we talk, alright Kreacher?" she was saying. She murmured a couple cleaning spells. "That at least gets rid of the smell… Kreacher."

There was an odd sniffing noise from the house elf.

"You need to understand some things, Kreacher. When you went to Miss Bellatrix and the Dark Lord you were giving them information to help them hurt all of us, not just Sirius. What if they had found out information that put Rigel in danger, not Sirius? Miss Bella and the Dark Lord want to hurt all of us, Kreacher. They would kill Rigel and I if they could. Do you want that?"

"No-o…" Kreacher's voice drew out the word in sorrow.

"Do you know how Rigel felt when he heard that his uncle was dead, Kreacher?"

"Sirius was no Black, no uncle, he was disowned—"

Lenna's voice was still gentle and patient. "He was very sad, Kreacher. Sirius was Regulus' brother, and Rigel cried when he lost him like I cried when I lost Regulus. Do you remember how I cried when I lost Regulus, Kreacher?"

Kreacher keened in acute distress.

"You have done unkind things," she continued. "But you don't have to again. You have the choice to make decisions that will protect Rigel and I and the people we care about. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, Kreacher is sorry, Kreacher is sorry…" the elf groaned, his voice thick with tears.

"I know, I know, hush… Do you love Rigel and I, Kreacher?"

"Kreacher loves Miss Lenna and Master Rigel…"

"Then use that brain of yours, darling. You mustn't let Miss Bella or Miss Narcissa or the Dark Lord or anyone hurt us or the people it would hurt us to see hurt. You understand that, don't you?"

"Yes, Kreacher understands…"

"Hush. There now."

Severus' heart had grown soft and warm hearing her kindness to the elf. He slowly moved across the hall and into the bathroom as quietly as possible as she said, "Alright, now that it's clean in here, how about you and I clean the rest of the upstairs floor, yeah?"

Severus flushed the toilet and pretended to wash his hands and then opened the door. Lenna was standing there with her head slightly cocked, curious as to who was there, and she looked surprised to see him.

"Severus!"

"Lenna."

"How are you?"

"Well. And you?"

"I'm alright." There was a short silence. Then she said, "Rigel told me of Katie Bell's accident at Hogsmeade a few weeks ago—he says she's expected to be alright."

"Yes, a full recovery."

Lenna nodded. "Such a random attack—and no one seems to have any idea where it came from or why."

"It is unclear at the moment, but Dumbledore is doing everything he can to find the person responsible… He's dealt with attempts upon his life before. Admittedly not at the hands of an Imperiused student of his, but still."

Lenna nodded and it was quiet between them again. Kreacher had left them to begin cleaning upstairs rooms, the hallway was dim, Severus was wearing casual Muggle clothes, his wizard's cloak over his arm, and the situation was so unexpectedly intimate that Lenna could not think of any other topics of conversation. Severus seemed similarly at a loss.

"What're you doing for Christmas?" she asked him suddenly.

He blinked at her. "I… Nothing."

"You're not doing anything with, er, family, or…?"

"No."

"I have to admit, Severus, it's taken some inner debate about your trustworthiness, but considering there will be over four or five legal witches and wizards there and whatnot, the risk is probably minimal" —she smiled a little— "so I would like you to know that you're welcome at my home for Christmas day. And dinner. If you would like. I know Rigel would be delighted to have you there…and so would I."

Severus gazed inscrutably at her. Her pleasant expression dimmed when it seemed like perhaps he wasn't at all pleased by this invitation. She looked to the right and then back at him a bit awkwardly.

"I understand if you have other plans," she said, expecting him to jump on the excuse. "It's—"

"I—I may stop by," he replied finally, halting and rather stiff. "Thank you for the invitation."

She nodded slowly. "You'll have to be sworn to secrecy according to my protective Charms, though."

"Of course."

She nodded. "Well, then…" She began to inch past him down the hall toward the other rooms. Severus let her pass, his expression not overly appealing. Lenna inwardly reproached herself. That had been the wrong move, obviously. He didn't want to be close with her and her son it seemed. She pressed her lips together. The man was impossible to understand. And this had caused him to backslide in her trust as well. Why was he trying to keep his distance now between her and her son? Was he trying to hide something?

Severus went down the stairs but then paused before going out the door. He was furious with himself. But what was worse was the confusion. The fact that everything in him wanted to say yes to her offer—wanted to share the holiday with her family—bask in her company for what would probably be a wonderful evening. But so many things barred him from that happiness. His duty to Dumbledore… Getting too close to her would only make appearing to betray her more painful. And he was afraid… He'd held fast to his love for Lily for so long…almost as long as he'd lived…and it still burned there in his chest. It wasn't going to leave; it couldn't be replaced. He had nothing to give another woman. And the possibility that that wasn't true—that Lenna could actually mean something to him—was terrifying. How could so much about his identity change enough to allow that? What was the purpose of his life then? Where would it leave him?

Severus left Grimmauld Place and the cold whipped at his face before he spun away into the squeezing tunnel of Apparition. As he did so, he shut his heart down to escape the confusion. Then all there was was the comforting cold logic of his head. It was better that way.


	23. CHAPTER 23: WHAT IT IS

**CHAPTER 23: WHAT IT IS**

…

"Break a vase, and the love that reassembles the fragments is stronger than that love which took its symmetry for granted when it was whole."

-Derek Walcott

…

"**I** thought we were going to have Christmas dinner at Grace's parents' place this year," said Walter Albeney as he helped his daughter magically clean her large apartment. It was already thoroughly decorated, but scraps of wrapping paper and candy wrappers from the mayhem of the morning were littered all about. "It was your turn last year."

"We were," she replied, a bit apologetically. "But I invited someone from the Order over for Christmas and on the off-chance they show up, I'd rather they knew where I live instead of Cal and Grace or Grace's parents. Does that make sense? I didn't want to put anyone else in potential danger…and I spoke to Grace's parents and her about it—they're fine with it."

"Alright, then. Think you're up for it? All Grace's sisters' kids…" Dinah was twining herself around his legs and he bent to pick her up. Dinah was particularly fond of Lenna's father. He scratched her ears and she purred happily.

"Just her youngest sister, Joy. Adrienne and Maria and their husbands and children are having Christmas with other family."

"Oh, okay. I was going to say you'll need a bigger place, ha. So who's this that you invited?"

"I'll introduce him to you if he appears. Which he probably won't."

"'He'?" He gave her a curious and almost-hopeful glance. Lenna shot him a look.

"It's not like that, Dad. He's just a friend from the Order that I didn't think had anywhere else to go for Christmas."

"Ah, a pity case."

Lenna smacked him playfully. "No! Rigel's fond of him. And…he was one of Regulus' friends from school."

"Really?" Walter looked interested. "Huh. And Rigel likes him?"

Lenna gave him the look again.

Walter ducked his head, smirking, and continued to siphon trash into a bag with his wand. The oven dinged—it was the cookies—and Lenna bounced away to go take them out.

"Where _is_ Rigel?" Walter asked.

"He's with everyone at Grace and Cal's, but he and Grace should be returning soon to help me with the cooking. Some of it I'm going to have to go magically." She looked doubtfully at the enormous ham thawing on her counter. "I don't think I have time for everything."

Rigel, Grace, and Mrs. Worthington arrived not five minutes later, and the three women began zooming around the kitchen. Walter attempted to help, but Grace ended up good-naturedly taking back the potatoes he was attempting to peel, and so he retreated to an armchair with Dinah. Rigel, better at taking directions and dealing with mothers on holidays than his grandfather, followed orders, put on some oven mitts, and cooked biscuits while Mrs. Worthington and Grace cooked the ham magically and Lenna got the gravy, mashed potatoes, and green beans ready.

Grace began setting the table—Lenna's china began zooming out and around to her chagrin, but nothing broke as Grace elegantly set the enlarged table, multiplied Lenna's already-existing chairs, and was just lighting the candles as the door opened and Marisa, Cal, Erin, Connie, little Walter, Mr. Worthington, and Joy piled into the apartment. Erin, Connie, and Walt were all toting new toys from the morning, Joy held a pie which she put on the table, and Marisa had a basket of chocolates she had purchased that she also put on the table.

There were hugs all around and a lot of noise.

"I'm hungry!" exclaimed little Walt.

Grace scooped him up and sat him in a seat. "We're eating in just a minute."

"Rigel!" he called over to his busy elder cousin. Rigel brought out a steaming bowl of mashed potatoes.

"Walterpants! You ready for dinner?"

"Yes!" Walter squirmed in his seat. Lenna, Grace, and her mother began bringing hot dishes out as everyone sat down. Once the enormous ham had been carved and put on the table, everyone began to dig in.

"Who's the extra place for?" Erin asked her aunt.

"A friend of mine who may or may not be coming."

"I hope he does," said Rigel. "It was really nice of you to invite him, Mum."

"I don't know. I think he thought it would be a bit too personal… Plus he might be overwhelmed by all the family and kids, you know—he's not like Dumbledore, Ri."

"Is anyone?" Rigel chuckled. Lenna smirked.

"Well."

"Food's delicious, girls," Calun complimented, the ham he had piled on his plate half-gone already. He reached up a hand to rub Grace's back affectionately and she gave him a soft look.

"Why thank you. I killed the pig and everything," Lenna replied, grinning. Connie looked up at her, looking mortified, and Lenna immediately cried, "I'm just _kidding_, Connie honey, I'm just kidding!"

Rigel laughed so hard he choked on his potatoes.

The kids ate quickly and then left the table to hang out in Rigel's room and play with their new Christmas presents. Joy listened to the conversation at the table for a time and then went over to a couch in the living room and petted Dinah. When they were finished with dinner, the Worthingtons left to spend the rest of the evening at their other family Christmas get-together in Ireland; Grace and Cal were planning on joining them with their kids after dessert.

After the Worthingtons had left, Lenna was coming back from the bathroom when in the middle of her hallway a silvery doe materialized in front of her and Severus Snape's low voice issued from it: "Where should I go?"

Lenna sent hers in reply: "Apparate to Dewey Park in London, if you know where that is, and I'll find you and take you to my house."

Getting no reply to the contrary, Lenna left the apartment and Apparated into the dark, snowy park under a large pine. Christmas lights glittered on the trees closest to the streets and on the shops around the small park. The world was hushed; everyone was inside having dinner with their families.

She saw a cloaked figure standing in bushes to her left and walked toward him.

"Severus?"

He turned.

"I apologize for my lateness," he said softly when she reached him.

"No need—I haven't even put anything away yet. We were just about to have some dessert. May I?" She offered her hand to him.

He gazed at her hand with an odd look, but his arm showed none of the reserve his eyes did and rose to meet her hand as quickly as she offered it. Lenna squeezed his hand gently, closed her eyes, and moved her body in the beginning of a spin, spinning them away into space and into the hallway of her apartment.

"Here we are," she said. The apartment materialized as she let him in on its location and she opened the door for him. She looked a bit furtive—perhaps worried he might Apparate away now upon learning where she lived. Not that he would be able to share it; only the Secret-Keeper could—and moreover nothing in this world could make him put her life in danger. Not that she knew that. He stepped inside her home.

People at the table looked up at them when they walked in. Lenna went over to the table, he followed, and she introduced him to her parents and her brother and his wife. He shook hands and nodded and sat rather stiffly in the chair Lenna had saved for him as she magically re-heated the dinner still on the table. He served himself and began to eat, rather determinedly avoiding the curious eyes of her family. _Well_, Lenna thought, _I hardly expected anything different_. At least his hair looked a great deal cleaner than usual.

"I'm going to call the kids for dessert," she said as she placed another pie, Christmas cookies, and a couple quarts of ice-cream on the table. She saw out of the corner of her eye Severus glance at her as she did so. She sighed internally. She was wearing a green Christmas sweater with a smudge on it from some sort of food and Muggle jeans and probably looked a bit flushed. As she went to get the kids, she shook her head a bit. She shouldn't care whether or not she was attractive to the man.

When the kids went back out to the table their eyes widened as they stared at the stranger sitting there.

"Professor!" Rigel exclaimed happily. "I'm glad you made it!" He took someone's seat that was right across from him. "How are you? Try the potatoes—Mum put cheese and garlic in them."

"I'm well." Severus served himself a spoonful of the potatoes. "You look well yourself."

Rigel grinned and shrugged. "It's Christmas."

"Mm."

Severus looked enormously out of place as young children stuffed their faces with desserts around him. And her family was still staring at him curiously. Lenna grimaced. They both sat a bit awkwardly through the dessert, but when Cal, Grace, and their kids left, Severus relaxed a bit. Rigel's Grandma and Grandpa had gone over to the couches, Walter sitting down to read a book he'd brought, and Marisa finishing up the last of her piece of pie while Dinah slept on the top of the couch she was sitting on.

Rigel devoured some of the chocolates Marisa had brought while talking animatedly with Severus. Lenna poured both herself and Severus a glass of red wine and sipped it as she sat and listened to them. Severus seemed to be very much enjoying her pie which pleased her, and Rigel was glowing with delight at having him here to talk to.

Lenna was surprised by how long Severus stayed. As it began to get late and Walter and Marisa had gone to bed in Lenna's guest bedroom, she kept expecting him to stand and tell them that he should probably be heading home. But he never did. He and Rigel even helped her clean up the place, shrink the table again, and un-charm chairs. Lenna got herself and Severus another glass of wine and then the three of them sat in the living room together, Rigel propped comfortably on cushions in front of the fireplace mantle, Lenna sitting on the couch closest to him with Dinah purring sleepily in her lap, and Severus next to her though not too close.

She enjoyed listening to Severus' opinions—everything he added to the conversation was deliberate and clever. Rigel had told her in letters how much he liked talking with this man, but Lenna hadn't fully understood why until now. He had an excellent mind.

He genuinely seemed to enjoy her son as well; he spoke to him like an adult, which Rigel of course appreciated, but Lenna could also hear a note of softness in his voice that was not often there. He also did not often smile, but he was quick enough to join Rigel in jokes, and then she would see a corner of his mouth quirk up in a crooked grin. She found herself being a bit funnier and wittier than usual in order to impress him and to see that grin more often. She had never tried to win his admiration before, but within the span of the night, it had become important to her.

Their conversation slowed after a time and the coals in the fireplace grew dim. Lenna revived it and smiled at the glow it cast on the ornaments of the tree. Severus was looking at her and she met his gaze. After just a moment he lowered his.

"I'm falling asleep on the floor," Rigel mumbled, smiling blearily. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Time for bed it sounds like," Lenna replied, smiling fondly at her sleepy son. With his hair disheveled he looked very much like his father.

Rigel nodded sleepily and shuffled away into his bedroom, Dinah following him. Lenna watched him go, feeling her pulse quicken the farther away from them he was. When his bedroom door shut her heart was pounding and she finally looked beside her at Severus.

He was gazing determinedly away from her.

"I can leave if you'd like," he said in a low voice.

"I don't mind you staying."

He nodded. Still he wouldn't look at her. She was glad of it, because if he'd looked at her she didn't think she would have been able to stop herself from kissing him. God, her blood was warm. It must have been the wine. The air between them was crackling like the fire in the grate. Lenna closed her eyes, trying to reign in whatever absurdity this was. When she opened them he was looking at her.

She looked quickly away, drawing breath. Obviously she was out of line, out of her mind, she had to stop this or the man would lose all respect for her.

"Lenna, I…"

"Don't want—I know. I—"

"No." He moved toward her slightly and she met his eyes—and saw the heat and want inside her reflected exactly in them. God, how much he _affected_— She leaned herself toward him too, she couldn't help it.

"I don't have anything to give you," he said in a low voice. His dark eyes held pain and the shadow of hopelessness. His hands curled into loose balls on his lap twitched slightly. His flint-black hair framed the pale planes of his face.

"I don't think I have anything left to give, either, Sev," she murmured. "Begs the question of why…of why I want this. So badly I can already taste you."

Something about that sentence broke Severus Snape, and with a sharp inhale he moved his head to meet her lips with his. Fire and ether made a rush for Lenna's veins and she wanted to throw her arms about him and crush him to her body. She hadn't felt such a strong desire for a man in far, far too long. Feverish electricity warmed her between her legs and she made a soft sigh in her throat.

Somehow she contained herself; she merely kissed him, touched only his mouth with hers, felt the endearing, self-conscious kissing of a man who was unused to doing so.

He made a soft, aching groan low in his throat, and she felt such a response of her body to that sound that that she shuddered faintly with desire. She wanted to breathe in his groans, feel this man's body wrapped around hers.

"No, Lenna, I…" he breathed, parting their lips.

She shook her head. "This doesn't have to mean anything or go anywhere or define our futures," she told him gently. "It's just right now. Just what we want tonight. Just what it is."

Severus closed his eyes. He didn't know how to fight the profound acquiescence he felt in his body and mind. This, it pierced into his soul, dove deep to the core of him, left him trembling with want of this new, frightening territory.

"Be here with me tonight. Just us sitting on this couch with this fireplace and just kiss me," she whispered to him.

_Yes_, his body hummed in response. _Keep me_.

"For a little while," he replied quietly. "Then I must go back."

She nodded and laid her head against his neck. She could smell the scent of his skin and she wanted to take a fold of his neck into her mouth and suck on it. She wanted to keep him but she knew she could not.

He closed his eyes and brought his arms up around her, he couldn't help it; his body spoke his feelings of desire, protectiveness, instinctual 'mine' without the ascent of his head.

"I cannot be for anything you, Lenna," he murmured. The words rumbled softly in his chest and he liked forming her name with his mouth such that he repeated it. "Lenna, I can't be anything for you."

"I'm not asking anything of you, Severus. I promise."

"Lenna." He spoke her name in a sigh that longed for what he could not have. She stopped his breath with another kiss and he kissed her until the coals again died down and he forced himself out of her arms and the warmth of her home.


	24. CHAPTER 24: TO REACH FOR HER

**CHAPTER 24: TO REACH FOR HER**

…

"There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness."

-Friedrich Nietzsche

…

**F**ebruary moved toward March with no change in the weather except that it became windy as well. The usual trip to Hogsmeade in the beginning of March was cancelled to the general indignation of the students—probably owing to what happened to Katie Bell on the last trip who had still not returned from St. Mungo's. What was more, further disappearances had been reported in _The Daily Prophet_, including several relatives of students at Hogwarts.

On Ron Weasley's birthday he had had the misfortune to consume some Chocolate Cauldrons meant for Harry from Romilda Vane that had been injected with love potion, and then, after being cured by Slughorn, was poisoned by some oak-matured mead Slughorn had that was intended for Dumbledore. Harry had barely managed to shove a bezoar down his throat as an antidote before it was too late, and as a result Ron had spent the rest of his birthday in the hospital wing.

Rigel had heard all this in the library with Harry and Hermione after the fact—Ron being still in the care of Madam Pomfrey.

He had shaken his head, staring at nothing in particular. "A necklace meant for Dumbledore that curses Katie, chocolates meant for Harry that spell Ron, and mead meant for Dumbledore that poisons Ron."

"Sounds tied together, doesn't it?" Hermione had commented. "Well, excepting Romilda's inane chocolates."

"Yeah—both things meant for Dumbledore that went awry. You reckon someone's trying to off the Headmaster?"

"That's what it looks like," she had replied, "but they've gone about it roundabout and foolishly… It doesn't seem like Death Eater-worthy attempts."

Rigel had shrugged. "Most people are willing to try anything when the usual methods haven't worked—which they haven't in the case of assassinating Dumbledore."

Hermione had made a face at the word 'assassinate' as if it made it too real a possibility.

And to put Harry and Ron in an even better mood—Hufflepuff destroyed Gryffindor in their Quidditch match because only about ten minutes in the burly Keeper replacing Ron had made the bone-headed decision to show one of the Beaters on the team how to properly hit a Bludger and had lobbed it right into Harry's skull.

All in all, too many visits to the hospital wing. But Hermione at least begun speaking to Ron again—a great improvement from the weeks earlier when she could hardly stand to be in the same room with him because he and Lavender Brown were dating. But he finally seemed to be getting irritated by his girlfriend, and their trouble in paradise was a source of endless pleasure for Hermione.

All this Rigel shared with Abraxas on a Sunday morning as they sat on his bed doing Transfiguration homework in an empty dormitory. Brax was chewing on the end of his quill with wide eyes as Rigel filled him in.

"Merlin," Brax muttered when Rigel had trailed off and absently picked up the morning's copy of the Prophet that he'd already perused.

"But," Abraxas sighed, "when has a year at Hogwarts ever been quiet and normal?"

Rigel chuckled. "Not since Harry Potter showed up to it."

"Your mum have an article in it today?" Brax asked, nodding at the paper.

"No, she's usually on the weekends… Getting news right from—er—my mum and her friends has exampled just how bloody behind the times the _Prophet_ can be…that Imperiused nine year-old getting caught trying to murder his grandparents was days ago…more people have gotten hurt since then."

"Who?"

"Some people on the fringes of Dumbledore's side. Has mum worried."

"Yeah. Yeah, my mum's writing me more than she ever has. I mean, she never really used to and now she does. I reckon it reassures her. And even if it is behind, there's quite enough bad news in the paper every day."

Rigel nodded. A muffled bump and then some tapping came one of the dormitory windows and they saw Sir Gawain hovering there. Rigel got up and opened it for him and he swooped in and settled himself on Rigel's bed. Brax untied the letter as Rigel was walking back over and handed it to him.

Rigel opened and read it quickly, his expression breaking into a grin.

"What time is it?" He looked at his watch. "Bugger, this is late. Mum wrote this morning to say her and Tonks would be coming by to school to see the Headmaster around lunchtime—" He was pulling on his shoes.

"Who's Tonks?"

"A friend of my mother's. I'm going to see if I can find them if they're here. I'll see you later? I need to look at what you found for the last half of that essay—I didn't really understand was McGonagall was asking."

"Sure."

"Thanks. I'll see ya." He flew down the stairs and, after a moment of walking, realized he didn't know exactly where the Headmaster's office was. Who would know if his mum was here? He set off for the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.

Severus was in his office grading essays with a scowl. Rigel maneuvered around a wheeled bookcase and through the open door to him.

"Professor Snape, sir, I got an owl from my mum just now saying she was going to be in Hogwarts around now—could you tell me where the Headmaster's office is?"

Severus blinked a couple times. "Your mother's here?"

"I think so, sir. With Tonks. She said she'd be in around lunchtime."

"The Headmaster's office is on the tower on the seventh floor behind a statue of a gargoyle, but that won't do you any good at present because the Headmaster left the castle on business two hours ago—your mother has probably missed him."

"Oh. I'm going to go ask Professor McGonagall if she's seen them, then."

Severus nodded and Rigel left. After a few minutes of fierce internal deliberation, Severus Snape also left his office.

…

"I know I should be guarding the castle, but the things I've been hearing from people—"

"I know, things are confused and people are getting hurt—I'd like to hear what's happening from Dumbledore, too."

Tonks looked gratefully at Lenna as they walked up to the school together. The pleasant expression momentarily lightened her thin, drawn-looking features. Lenna had no idea what could have gotten to Tonks to make her normally heart-shaped face and bubblegum-pink hair lose all its luster. It could have been what happened at the Ministry at the end of last year, but for some reason Lenna had thought Tonks tougher than that.

Lenna looked around the entrance hall when they arrived. Her face fell.

"Hm, I was hoping Rigel would have been here waiting—I sent him an owl… Would you mind if I went to find him instead of going with you to Dumbledore? You can fill me in after?"

Tonks nodded. "'Course."

They parted ways and Lenna set off toward the Ravenclaw Tower, taking a back way so as to not amass odd looks from the students in the more crowded corridors. She was climbing a narrow staircase upward when someone came around the bend in it going downward. It was Severus Snape.

They stopped and stared at one another. Lenna smiled a little in greeting.

"How are you, Severus?"

He didn't answer her and instead took one more step downward so that they were closer. She didn't know the torment that had been his these last two months in which he hadn't seen or heard from her. She didn't know how the thought of her followed him around all day and kept him awake in the nights ridiculing himself for feeling and reminding himself of the agony and confusion he would face if he were to encourage this… She didn't know the way he would wake in the middle of the night wanting her body against his, his lips warm at the mere thought of hers pressing against them… Confusion and want boiling inside of him until he was half-mad with it all.

"You've been avoiding me."

She shook her head. "No, I haven't. I only have not actively sought you out. I've been keeping my promise."

"What promise?"

"To ask nothing of you."

"I appreciate that."

She nodded. "I know. That's why it's the right thing."

There was a silence. Severus' eyes were smoldering, but Lenna chose to ignore that insight into him; he said he didn't want things to go any further and so that was that.

"I'm surprised you haven't asked me why I'm in the castle."

"Rigel already told me."

"You've seen him?"

"He's looking for you."

"I'm looking for him."

"I was looking for you."

"…Because you thought I'd been avoiding you."

"No." Oddly, he scowled at her and continued roughly, "I wanted to see you."

"It's been a while. I've missed your company as well. I'm jealous that Rigel—"

"Stop."

"What?"

"Deflecting my meaning."

Lenna scowled back at him. "Then say what it is that you mean."

It was a moment in time when Severus Snape could have let it go like she was giving him the opportunity to. He could have let what was between them drop—let everything drop. But there was this voice screaming in his head… With Lily he had never done enough—had never been enough…and now…Lenna…and he couldn't be that cautious, untouched man or he would lose her the same way.

That night in her apartment he had listened to her soft mouth form her thoughts and witticisms and had begun to hunger for more of her words. She did not bore or irritate him as so many others did… Respect and affection for her had snuck under his hardened skin. Her past gave her present movements and voice a quiet melancholy, but she still held light inside, and a sort of fierce, comfortable charm about her. That night he had become someone else, but his identity had not so much as altered as expanded. His devotion to Lily still burned there in his chest, as bright and fever-hot as it ever had been. He had always assumed that was all he could contain. All there could be. But Lenna's wit, her fierceness, her soft kindness, and her implausible affection toward him had opened beneath him another world. She could love a damaged man as Lily was never able to. Lily had always been unobtainable fire in the air…Lenna was earth and water; tangible, life-giving. And he ached for her as words could not describe.

It was past his ability to articulate everything in his head and heart. So he reached for her. She was close enough that he didn't have far to go. It was so _easy_ just to pull her against him and kiss her sweet mouth. Severus hungrily pushed her against the stairwell wall and felt the melting of her body against his. She wrapped herself around him.

The pressure of her waist against his sprang into existence a hundred affections, and he growled low in his throat with the sharp, sweet pain of it that he wanted still deeper. He had never known the want of a woman like this. He was throbbing, and he was tempted to completely take leave of his senses and take her against this wall. Blissful non-thought. Only his body and hers existed. She panted in his ear and his body responded, his waist hitching to press tightly against hers against the wall. She inhaled sharply and Severus closed his eyes while he kissed her neck hungrily and raked his teeth against the skin there.

"Fuck, I want you…" she moaned. "Sev…"

That was enough for him. Severus erected barricades on the stairwell five feet up and down from them and put in place sound barriers as well while Lenna caressed his earlobe with her lips, tongue, and teeth. She shimmied her pants and panties down the wall to her ankles and Severus closed his eyes, trembling slightly, as she did the same to his clothes. She murmured a spell to prevent a pregnancy and then slipped her wand out of sight again.

Severus felt as if he were out of his body—as if he wasn't there anymore and a stranger was taking this woman by the waist and pushing their body up into hers. Lenna closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the wall; her body, hands, and hips drew him deeper, rhythmically moving against him and against the wall.

Severus stared at her, a fever building inside, while at the same time a contentment as profound as he had ever known settled itself in him. Tenderly he kissed her face, her neck, and moved his hands over her body, while his hips lacked tenderness. Lenna opened her eyes and gazed at him even while he gazed at her, their bodies working together in a way he had only experienced in dreams.

She smiled.

He kissed her, whispered her name. They moved and moved together. There was heat, need, chasing of pleasure. He felt as if tears might come. He had been so lonely, so fucking lonely, always… And she was so warm and strong and perfect—more than it seemed he would ever have the right to ask for… He groaned deeply.

He felt her speed hitch up, her eyes fluttered closed, her body contracted around his, and she trembled, letting out broken moans. He was worried for a moment, but then saw the look of pleasure that replaced the overwhelmed expression on her face. She sighed and her embrace gentled for a few moments. The expression in her eyes and face brought a wave of security to him. This was as wonderful for her as well… He felt her speed build again, and the speed of her motions soon wiped all cogent thought from his mind. The pressure and pleasure inside him built, and then broke quite suddenly, and he groaned sharply—short, cut groans—in release.

They were both breathing so heavily… He kissed her neck, her mouth. He was so warm…and he tingled. His bones had softened and their hardness had been replaced by the tenderest of affections. _Augh_. He didn't want it to be over. The world while inside of her body made perfect sense. It was unassailable and free from the doubts and pains of conscious thought.

"You're a confusing man, Sev," Lenna breathed gently, smiling a little. The repetition of Lily's nickname for him in Lenna's voice caused his heart to beat hard and hot but did not cause him pain. "You say you have nothing to give me and then…that…"

"I admit to being personally more than a little bit conflicted," he replied in a hoarse voice. "I'm not in a position…to maintain…"

"Neither am I. Let's…let's still just promise not to promise anything." She chuckled softly. "But when we want, er, this…"

"I'll come to you and you to me."

She smiled, her eyes still a bit starry and her mouth quirked up in a disbelieving and slightly ironical smile, and kissed him. His mind was still mostly a delicious blank. He reveled in holding her, smelling her, feeling her body against his.

She bent after a moment to find her wand, and cleaned them up a bit with a few twitches of it. Then she pulled her pants and underwear back up. Severus did the same.

"Rigel probably is considering sending out a distress signal," she said softly. "I probably should actually find him."

Severus nodded, though what he wanted was to take her back to his room and make love to her again. He lowered the blockades on the stairwell. He didn't know if anyone's way had been impeded—they were gone now if they had been—but as this was a fairly un-used staircase he imagined not. Lenna turned to go.

"Wait." Severus took her in his arms and kissed her again. It felt so good to kiss her. He wanted to be able to spend an entire day doing it. An entire life.

"Goodbye, Severus," she murmured. "Let's not let it go another two months this time." And she turned and was soon out of his sight around the curve in the stairs, though he could still hear her footfalls.

He leaned his back against wall and closed his eyes.

_What had they begun? _


	25. CHAPTER 25: WHAT'S COMING

**CHAPTER 25: WHAT'S COMING  
><strong>

…

"It's hard to tell who has your back from who has it long enough just to stab you in it."  
>-Nicole Richie<p>

…

**S**omething was different about Professor Snape.

He hid it pretty well, but Rigel had now caught three—count 'em, three—occasions when the man had been uncommonly pleasant to his students. And he didn't seem very inclined to spend much time with Rigel outside of class anymore. Rigel had at first chalked up the avoidance to a stressful week or something. But no, it was all the time.

At first after Severus had spent Christmas night with him and his mom Rigel expected to be on even closer and friendlier terms with the professor—and that had been true after an initial awkwardness on Severus' part. But now it was that awkwardness times ten and the professor was keeping his distance. It reminded him of when his mother was keeping a secret from him—the way she would avoid his eyes.

He would have been more worried about it if it weren't for the professor's new rare pleasantness. As it was, he couldn't make heads or tails of it. When he had mentioned it to his mom in an owl she hadn't seemed overly concerned in her reply. She had said that maybe Christmas had felt to him like getting uncomfortably close to a student and a coworker (if mutual membership in the Order can be called that) and not to press him about it. But leaving Severus Snape alone left Rigel feeling oddly and uncomfortably alone. He had to admit he'd been growing a bit attached to the man.

Although, with school the way it was he doubted he'd be able to spend much time with Severus anyway. The stress of looming O.W.L. examinations was weighing heavily on the fifth-years and every single one of their professors were assigning them mountains of extra work. A Hufflepuff in Rigel's Charms class had, under the weight of stress, broken down when she couldn't make the pattern on a handkerchief change from plaid to paisley and Flitwick had had her friend escort her to the Hospital wing for some calming draught.

The only time together he and Holly were getting anymore was time studying together in the library or common room, and even Scott could be found in the library at times, his usually roughish grin replaced by a look of grim determination not to fail all his exams.

Harry was now going out with Ginny Weasley—a happy product of the Gryffindor's recent and miraculous Quidditch Cup win. Rigel was happy for both of them and glad Ron wasn't taking it too hard. Ron would be a hypocrite if he did, anyway, seeing as he and Lavender Brown had thrashed around all over the place with each other for months. Why Harry and Ginny could get together and Ron and Hermione seemed unable to was a source of confusion. What with Harry's frequent near-death experiences and the fact that his best friend is Ginny's brother, it would seem like the two have far more roadblocks than Ron and Hermione. Yet Ron and Hermione still somehow wouldn't acknowledge their feelings for each other. Holly found this tremendously amusing, but Rigel just thought it was sad.

Harry was getting a number of private lessons from Dumbledore as well as detentions for Severus Snape every Saturday night, all contributing to Rigel being able to see him very little. He was mostly spending his time with Abraxas in the common room or library, slowly working through the mountains of work they both had.

It all had sort of an odd, anticlimactic feeling to it. Rigel felt like everything that had been happening this year—He Who Must Not Be Named acknowledged back, the disappearances, the murders, the attacks—all felt like a tide swelling, getting ready to break. But that break didn't seem to be coming. Everything felt like life as usual, and, as Rigel had gone to Hogwarts with Harry all five of his years, he was used to something big happening at the end of those years. Generally they'd been removed from him, but now he was in the center of things. In the Order, friends with Harry… He expected action, especially with He Who Must Not Be Named gathering strength.

So where was it? When would it hit? Would it hit Hogwarts, or somewhere else like last year? A shadow was hovering over Rigel's brain and in his letters to his mother he talked to her about it. She told him the Order was expecting something too—they always were—but no one knew when, where, or what. There was still a bit to go until the end of term, but… Something was hanging over them all, unseen but not unfelt. Rigel didn't like how vulnerable it made him feel. Not just him personally, but everyone. It felt like no one expected anything to happen and that was leaving everything unprotected.

…

Late in the evening, Severus Snape let himself into Lenna's apartment as if he owned it. Few lights were on in it except for in the kitchen, though there was no one in the kitchen currently. The only other light was from Lenna's bedroom and as he walked down the hall toward it, Dinah walked out of the room to see who was here. When she saw him she simply turned and walked right back into the bedroom. He followed her.

Lenna was sitting cross-legged on her bed, a quill in her teeth and papers spread out around her. She looked up when he came in and she let out a sigh, a smile rising to her lips. Severus shrugged off his cloak, then wordlessly collected the papers on the bed and gently set them on a nearby chair. Lenna had just enough time to place her quill on the bedside table before his hands and his mouth were upon her.

They undressed each other slowly, removing clothing as it impeded their ability to access a new place on the others' body. They made love gently and then not so gently by the light of Lenna's bedside lamp.

The weight and heat of Severus above and inside her was something she had come to crave. She wanted his cheek against hers, his breath on her neck, her hands on his back. And she craved the primal feeling of belonging—of knowing this was the man who would shelter her as his body physically sheltered her as they joined. She had not had such a partner in so very long. She had not allowed herself to give up her trust, her allegiance, her base _faith_ to any man since Rigel's father. Something—perhaps everything—about Severus clicked in her and unlocked everything that had been shut away. She felt as if they deeply mutually understood each other. That they were and wanted the exact same things. They were both used and damaged, but they were both still young and starved. They both still had so much to give. And Lenna had—consciously or no—given up what she had to give to him. She was herself when she was with him, not merely defined by the fact that she was Rigel's mother or Regulus' widow. She had surrendered the allegiance and devotion of a mate to a mate. It made her feel vulnerable, but alive. So alive.

She lay on her bed naked with her eyes closed, tingling pleasure still warming and fluttering in her body. She felt gentle fingertips near a temple and felt Severus stroke a side of her face. She knew if she opened her eyes she would see him on his side, his head propped on an arm, his eyes tracing her features as he had on nights before. His dark eyes were never overly expressive, but she knew she would see a warmth in them that transformed his face into something truly handsome.

She opened her eyes expecting that tender expression she so treasured, but instead his eyes were pained.

She blinked a few times and looked questioningly at him. He smiled a bit—tightly—and leaned in to kiss her forehead.

"What is it?" she asked.

He looked away and paused before answering for a moment to lay himself down flat on his side next to her. Again he met her eyes and grimaced briefly.

"I wish I could carry you around all day in my pocket so I can protect you," he replied.

Lenna chuckled softly. "Regulus used to say that too. I told him I would probably end up in more danger that way."

Severus conceded that point with a grunt. "Yes, probably."

"It doesn't bother you when I mention him, does it?"

"No." He turned his head on the pillow to look into her eyes. "It doesn't."

"You can talk about Lily to me if you'd like, too. I wouldn't mind either."

His eyes had flown to hers in shock. He sat up jerkily. "I—"

"Regulus told me all those years ago, Severus. I've always known."

"Oh."

"I'm sorry if…"

"No… Lenna, no. I'm not conflicted about this because of her. I might have been at the beginning, but only because what I was feeling made me worry that I didn't know myself. Or the nature of love. If that makes sense. I had been so ready to devote myself merely to her memory… It threw me to have love enter my life again."

It was the longest speech about his feelings she'd ever heard him make and she sat up and kissed his pale, smooth shoulder gently. It was warm, and she let her mouth linger. He turned to look at her and his dark eyes were tender.

"This is actually what she…what she had always wanted for me. I just was never ready for it," he finished in a low voice.

"We're both so similar," she murmured.

He chuckled once. "Hm." He lay back down and Lenna snuggled into his side. When she glanced up at his face again there was pain on it again, and conflict. She propped herself up to look at him, eyebrows furrowed.

"Severus. What is it?"

He exhaled and brought a hand up to caress her hair. There was a shadow on his face, in his eyes. "Len…I want you to hear something. And I don't want to talk about it. I just…want to say it."

"Alright."

He took a breath and looked away from her. He couldn't conceal the issues raging in his dark eyes. This was something serious he was struggling with but Lenna didn't know what. She watched him intently, trying to understand.

"I want you to know," he whispered, "that whatever things look like, whatever happens in the future…I love you. God help me, but I love you. If the path of my life hadn't been in such serious motion already, I would abandon it all to never part from you. But I can't. I'm sorry if things… I'm just… I'm sorry. Lenna, I'm so sorry."

"I don't know what you're apologizing for, Sev," she replied in a soft voice. "You haven't done anything wrong. It's alright." She stroked his jaw with her hand tenderly and he closed his eyes.

_I will, though_, he thought._ You don't know what's coming. You have no idea what I'm going to have to put you through. _But he shoved back his pain. There was nothing for it. The last thing he wanted was to alarm her. He probably should…he should teach her not to trust him…but he couldn't bring himself to. His connection to her was the best thing he had in his life.

He gathered her against him and held her. She said nothing but her breathing relaxed slowly. He felt as if his insides were melting when he held her when she was asleep. The simply bliss of it staggered him completely. He'd never known anything like this, had never held a woman in his arms like he did her. And she wasn't just any woman, she was someone amazing. Someone strong and smart and warm. She was brave and tender and she made him want the rest of the world to disappear. What he felt for her rocked him totally and at times he felt like he was going to choke on the gratitude, devotion, and love he felt; a mighty tide swirling in his head until he thought he might actually weep.

"Len?" he murmured.

"Mm?" She rubbed her eyes with a hand. "Oh shite, I have castle guard duty tonight with Molly. What time is it?"

"Going on eight."

"I have to go." She slid off the bed and began to dress. He watched her, admiring her body, the way she moved, and thinking on the incredible improbability of the moment. The fact that he could be lying naked in this woman's bed as she dressed. He'd never been part of a couple before. He'd never had a normal relationship. And here he was, stretched out in her bed watching her pull her pants on after having amazing sex with her. He did things now like kissing her on the forehead and watching her while she slept. It blew his mind. Who had he become? How had this happened?

Lenna glanced at him as she buttoned her shirt and grinned, shaking her head in an amused fashion. "This—you and me—is kind of crazy if you think about it."

"I just was. And yes it is."

She laughed.

"What would you call us?" he asked her. "If you had to put a label on it? What are we?"

"Friends who shag," she answered immediately, grinning. "Two mutually-sex-starved adults. Fuck buddies, as the Americans would have it." She was leaning down to kiss him, laughing. "I would call this: pleasure. Mutual gratification. Friends with benefits."

Severus rolled his eyes. "But seriously—"

"Love," she answered more seriously, gazing down at him.

"Yeah?"

"You know I'm in love with you, Sev. Even though I haven't said it. Of course I'm in love with you."

"You've said it now."

She stuck her tongue out. "I don't remember doing that. I think you're making it up."

"Oho do you?" He reached out to grab her and pull her down against him. "Do you also not remember shagging my brains out half an hour ago?"

"Now _that_ I remember," she laughed. "Let me go—I have to get going."

He released her, chuckling, and she walked out of the room. Severus grabbed a blanket they'd pushed off the bed, wrapped it around his waist, and followed her out.

She was pulling on her shoes, her traveling cloak draped over the back of a chair. She looked up at him and smirked.

"Professor Snape, naked in my dining room."

"Shut it."

He looked so good in the dim light in that blanket that when he came toward her and kissed her long and hard, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed herself to him, trying to make the most of every last moment.

She groaned when she had to break apart from him. She stroked his face with a hand. "How 'bout you just stay right here—in my bed maybe—until I get back, yeah?"

He grinned. "Don't tempt me."

"But I am. I definitely am." She kissed him again. "I'm on duty until two. You could be sleeping in my bed when I got home…"

Severus sighed. "We'll see."

"No, please let me know one way or the other so I'm not disappointed."

Severus' fingers caressed her chin. She was so beautiful. He wanted to keep her and keep her. "I would never of my own volition disappoint you," he said very softly. He pressed his forehead against hers. "I'll be here. Stay safe."

She nodded and kissed him again before leaving. Severus locked the door behind her and then went back into her bedroom to get some sleep.


	26. CHAPTER 26: INCOMPREHENSIBLE

**CHAPTER 26: INCOMPREHENSIBLE**

…

"You see, I could conceive death, but I could not conceive betrayal."  
>-Malcolm X<p>

…

"**I**'m sorry I'm a bit late, Professor," Lenna said as she entered his office. He looked to be leaving soon; he was getting on a heavy traveling cloak. He winced slightly as his injured hand tried to find its way into a sleeve and Lenna sprang forward to help him on with the cloak. Dumbledore smiled gratefully at her.

"That's quite alright," he replied. "I have increased the guard duty much more than usual tonight as I'm going to be leaving the school again. There are more Order members on top of the usual guard."

Lenna nodded. "Where would you like me?"

"I'm not sure of the exact layout tonight, but Remus can certainly let you know—he'll be by the main entrance."

She nodded. She opened her mouth to say something else but Dumbledore was staring at his phoenix perched on its massive stand. Fawkes was ruffling his beautiful crimson wings in an agitated way. Suddenly, the bird took flight and Lenna flinched as he headed right for her. But Fawkes alighted on the table of magical objects beside her and stared at her with his large, shiny black eyes.

"What…?" Lenna asked Dumbledore hesitantly, but the headmaster merely watched the odd behavior of his pet, not venturing to comment. Fawkes let out a soft, gentle cry and them began to weep. It was an extraordinary sight and made Lenna feel like something heartbreaking must have happened. She stared at the bird like an idiot, until Dumbledore pressed a phial into her hands.

"I would catch some of those, if I were you."

Lenna immediately placed the phial under one of Fawkes' eyes and it caught quite a healthy amount of his warm, sparkling tears. He then promptly stopped weeping and returned to his perch.

"Professor…why…?"

"Who knows? Phoenixes are mysterious birds. But perhaps he knows of a time in your future in which you'll need that, Mrs. Black, so I would keep it with you."

"Of—of course. Er, thank you, Fawkes." She didn't know if the bird was a type that could understand and felt silly addressing it, but she figured it was always best to be polite. She capped the phial and tucked it away in her cloak.

Dumbledore smiled and the two of them left his office together. Lenna parted with him toward the marble staircase and found Remus and Bill Weasley near the doors to the Great Hall. Remus gave her her assignment and she set off to patrol the castle as directed.

…

Severus jolted awake. He had no idea what time of night it was. His arm was burning.

He pushed off Lenna's sheets to reveal his Dark Mark in the dim room. It was black and twisting on his arm. He stared at it as if he couldn't comprehend what it was.

_Not now…_

Lenna's home was a place of shelter—darkness couldn't encroach here, not now…

But it was. The binding magic of the Mark was not calling him into service, but alerting him of a meeting. Something was happening. Severus groaned to himself. The Dark Lord would expect him to be at Hogwarts, at his double agent post. If Draco Malfoy needed help…

Severus turned on the lamp and began pulling on his clothes. He looked longingly at the bed he would be leaving. If this would call him away for too long he would be breaking his promise to Lenna… He decided against leaving her a note. If this would keep him away it would be important enough to be a suitable excuse. Anyway, he could let her know in other ways if it came to that.

He shut off lights with his wand and locked the door behind him before Apparating back into Hogsmeade and trudging up to the castle in the dark.

…

It was getting late. Lenna had been patrolling her area of the castle and the one secret passageway assigned to her for a couple hours. She kept thinking of how Severus was in her bed at home and her insides squirmed with delight. She hadn't felt like such a kid in a very long time. A naughty kid.

She giggled to herself but it died in her throat when Remus' Patronus materialized in front of her.

"Break in—Astronomy Tower—we need you—"

It hadn't even finished speaking before Lenna was sprinting.

As she approached and heard yelling around the corner, all thought of the stitch in her side disappeared. She was about to send a Patronus message to Severus when Neville was thrown into the wall in front of her. He crumpled, unconscious, and Lenna sprang around the corner, hissing the ugliest curses she had in her arsenal. Two unprepared Death Eaters crumpled under her wand in the dim light of the sparse torches along the walls, but more turned on her. The scene was gruesome; people lay on the floor, bloody, crumpled—Order members were fighting Death Eaters in the deadly contained space, curses were flying everywhere, there were children—students—barely dodging death. The fight was going poorly. The Death Eaters seemed ready to fight to the death for which they were named. Lenna and the Order were doing all they could, but things were bad.

"_Ah_!" Lenna spun to the floor, grasping her arm. A curse rebounding off the wall had caught her arm and torn her robe; caking black was streaked across her skin and she felt as if the skin under it was burning. A Death Eater tried to take advantage of her weakness and finish her but he was suddenly thrown backwards by a spell from behind Lenna. She turned to see who had helped her and smiled gratefully to see Severus running towards them.

"You alright?" His voice was strained.

"Yes—"

"The Derivian Countercurse for—"

"I know—"

He nodded once, and paused for a moment in time. The battle still raged in front of them but Lenna could not look away from his eyes. Something was different in his face—he looked drawn, darkened, and bleak—

"Sev—?" Fear pierced her. _What…?_

He moved forward to grasp her shoulder. Then his hand moved up to cup her face gently. "Please," he groaned, the words wrenched out of him, his eyes agonized, "stay safe." And he slipped away from her, hurtling through the fight, and leapt up the winding Tower stairs. Remus attempted to follow but an invisible magical barricade threw him backwards.

Lenna had no more time to think on Severus' behavior—the fighting was too intense. It was all she could do to defend herself while she employed the countercurse to her arm before she dived back into the nasty brawl.

She got stuck dueling a slim, skilled Death Eater for what seemed like minutes on end and when she finally struck him down it was because he'd been distracted by the behavior of one of their own—a big, beefy Eater was firing major curses everywhere, hitting friend and foe. The Eater Lenna had been dueling was forced to dive out of the way of one of them and Lenna used that distraction to cast a curse that severed the major arteries in his neck. Blood erupted as a huge crash sounded behind her and she turned to see some of the ceiling falling in because of the curses; she tried to leap out of the way but in the cramped corridor there was not much space and a piece of ceiling fell on her cloak and wrenched her to the ground. She fell, bruising and bloodying her hands and knees and as the dust began to clear she watched as Severus appeared out of the dust, gripping Draco Mafoy's robe collar and shoving him through the mess as fast as he could move. They looked as if they were being chased.

"It's over, time to go!" Severus called out, his face contorted in an ugly, dark expression as he dragged Malfoy through the rubble. Lenna thought of calling out to him but something in his face stymied her tongue. Something was wrong. Why would he say it's over? What was over? The fight was still happening. On the floor she healed her wounds and wrenched herself back up again. Death Eaters that weren't locked in a duel with the Order were leaving, following Severus away from the Tower. Dread filled her. Something had happened. Something was over. This fight had merely been a side show.

_What had happened?_

Harry suddenly could be seen hurling himself down the stairs and through the rubble after them all. Fenir abandoned his fight to throw himself at Harry but Harry Stunned him and heaved the werewolf off of him, plunging down the corridor again, saving Ginny from the mercy of two Eaters as he went. Even though there were wounded that needed tending, Lenna followed her instincts and instead pursued Harry and the Death Eaters through the fight and the castle.

There was more noise now—more shouts and screams—other people in the castle seemed to have awoken. Lenna knew Rigel was now probably somewhere in the fray. But he could hold his own. People were shouting about the Dark Mark—apparently it had been set above the school…

Lenna just glimpsed Harry running out of the entrance hall and onto the dark grounds. She growled to herself—she'd lose him in the dark. She leapt down the marble staircase as fast as she could but it wasn't fast enough; when she plunged out into the darkness she could see nothing but running silhouettes, all of which could be Harry.

There were flashes of light far ahead—Hagrid had come out of his cabin and was trying to prevent the Death Eaters from escaping. Lenna leapt in to defend the gamekeeper against the brother and sister Carrows. From up ahead in the darkness she heard a familiar voice shout "Run, Draco!" and her heart constricted. Was it Severus Harry was pursuing? _Why_?

There were flashes of red light all around; Lenna didn't have the opportunity to look to see. Someone yelled "_Incendio_!" behind her and dancing orange light spilled over them—Hagrid's house was afire. Lenna slashed her wand, cutting down the huge Death Eater that had done it and put a Shield Charm in place as she tried to get the better of the spreading flames. Lenna snarled, spinning around to face the Death Eaters trying to get at her from behind. She could hear Hagrid's dog howling in fear from inside the house and it seemed to embody all of the pain of tonight and who knows what lives lost and in danger. It made her so angry that deadly curses hissed from her jaws like smoke and an unknown Death Eater fell dead under her wand and one of the Carrows fell as well—dead or alive, she couldn't tell. The other Carrow backed off as well as a large, blond Eater, and Lenna again turned her attention to putting the fire out.

She moved around the house, extinguishing the flames, and as she did so she saw in the far-reaching firelight Severus and Harry. She froze. Harry was in the grass, bloody, Severus was standing over him, an ugly, sneer of uttermost hatred on the face that only this evening had pressed against hers with the gentlest touch—

"DON'T—CALL ME COWARD!" He roared at the boy and he slashed the air with his wand—the force of the attack threw Harry over on his back on the ground—

Lenna felt her knees snap forward, white-hot fury making ash of her veins—she brandished her wand without even thinking of any spell in particular and Severus was thrown backwards—as he flew back, a gigantic hippogriff soared over Lenna's head. After he landed heavily in the grass, Severus looked up for a moment in time and his eyes met Lenna's across the grass, across Harry—there was nothing but shock there but Lenna knew what she must look like, holding up her wand, murderous fury in her expression—then the hippogriff attacked Severus with its talons, screeching horribly, and Severus fled. He simply fled, running and running until he could Disapparate beyond the school's boundaries.

Lenna remained there, her chest heaving, her mind boiling, not lowering her wand. She could feel the heat on her back from Hagrid's house but could not register that she needed to be doing anything but standing there. Her heart seared.

_What…what…what…_

She could hear Hagrid and Harry's voices. The whining of a close-by dog reached her…good, they'd gotten him out…she could hear Harry muttering the spells to put Hagrid's house out…

Lenna's breath was coming faster and faster. She knew it wasn't a good thing, but she couldn't stop it, there wasn't enough air, tears were coursing down her face, she didn't understand—

A gigantic hand landed on her shoulder and began to shake her. She smelled burnt wood and dog hair.

"Lenna? Miss Lenna? Hey now." Hagrid brought her against his side in what must have been his idea of a friendly one-armed embrace. "Easy."

Harry was suddenly in front of her. Her vision was going blurry.

"Miss Albeney? Miss Albeney, are you okay? Something's happened to her, Hagrid," Harry panted. "She's breathing really fast. Hyperventilating. Um. Here, wait."

Harry murmured a calming spell and against her will, Lenna's panic abated. A great sob rose in her and burst out and she would have collapsed if it weren't for Hagrid's arm around her.

_Pull it together_, she snarled to herself. _You're a fucking Order member_.

Her head snapped up. "Thank you, Harry. I'm sorry. Talk to us. What happened?"

Harry seemed to sag on his feet. He looked…truly horrible. Like half the world had died…

"I jus' saw them Death Eaters runnin' down from the castle," Hagrid said, "but what the ruddy hell was Snape doin' with 'em? Where's he gone-was he chasing them?"

"He…" Harry cleared his throat. Like Lenna's it was probably dry from panic and smoke. "Hagrid, he killed…"

"Killed?" Hagrid repeated, staring down at him. "Snape killed? What're you on about, Harry?"

Lenna knew she didn't want to hear anymore but she was masochistically avid to do so. Her eyes stung but she didn't blink. "Let him speak, Hagrid."

"Dumbledore," Harry moaned. "Snape killed Dumbledore."

"Dumbledore, wha, Harry—"

Lenna shoved Hagrid's arm aside impatiently, her eyes staring into Harry's.

"Did you see it?" she asked him clearly. "Are you sure?"

"He's dead, Snape killed him, I saw it happen, Avada Kedavra…"

Hagrid was shaking his head, his expression sympathetic. "Yeh couldn't have."

"_Listen_ to him, Hagrid," Lenna growled, uncharacteristically harsh. "You need to listen. Harry saw Severus murder Albus." The world was very numb. But she found she could still function through it.

She put an arm around Harry who was shaking uncontrollably. "Let's go find him."

"What musta happened was, Dumbledore musta told Snape ter go with the Death Eaters," Hagrid said confidently. "I suppose he's gotta keep his cover."

Neither Lenna nor Harry said anything in response to him. The oak front doors stood open ahead of them, the light from inside the castle spilling onto the drive and the grounds.

"At the foot of the tallest Tower," Harry croaked. Already, people were beginning to move towards there.

"Are you sure you want to look?" she asked him quietly. He nodded stiffly and they walked through the wet grass to the base of the Astronomy Tower where now a group had gathered.

"What're they all lookin' at?" said Hagrid. "Wha's that lyin' on the grass? Under where the Mark …Blimey…yeh don' think someone got thrown…" Hagrid fell silent, the thought apparently too horrible to express aloud.

There was an awful pressing in Lenna's chest. This overtook any personal loss she might have felt tonight concerning Severus Snape…this was bigger…this was everything…

She hung back, able to now clearly see the boy had told the truth. Harry, however, continued through the gap in the crowd and knelt at Dumbledore's side. He even straightened the glasses on the man's crooked nose and wiped some blood from his mouth.

Tears choked Lenna. This was incomprehensible.

All of it.

Incomprehensible.

Severus. Her Severus. Her partner, her lover. Murdering their leader, their symbol, their savior, the world's most wonderful human being. Gone forever… If there had been any less pain to feel, she probably would have collapsed into helpless weeping. As it was, the world was numb. It was too much. She was breathing too much and too fast again.

"Hagrid," she said.

The enormous, weeping man turned and looked down at her.

"I need the hospital wing, please."

She then lost consciousness.


	27. CHAPTER 27: BETRAYAL

**CHAPTER 27: BETRAYAL  
><strong>

…

"In that sleep of death what dreams may come,  
>When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,<br>Must give us pause"  
>-Hamlet, Act 3, scene 1<p>

…

**W**hite plaster.

White plaster in swirling patterns on the high ceiling was what Lenna saw first when she opened her eyes. She couldn't figure out why it was making her so unimaginably sad. So heartbroken… Then she remembered. It wasn't the white plaster ceiling. It was everything else.

"Finally," came a relieved sigh. She turned her head to see her son lift his head from lying across his arms on her bed. "Mum…"

Tears began to well and fall from her eyes. She closed them as if that might make them stop.

"Mum," Rigel said anxiously. "Mum, are you okay? Are you in pain?"

She opened her eyes and just looked at him. "I'm sad, baby. I'm just really…sad…"

Rigel stood and put a knee on the bed so he could hug her. "I know, mum…blimey…I…they all came in here and put the pieces together, everyone told their bit and… I was so scared, mum, before I learned you were here. Everyone just told me you'd been everywhere, in all the fighting and had seen the body, and then Remus said you were in the hospital wing and I didn't know what had happened to you."

"Tell me you didn't alert your uncle and freak him out."

"He didn't freak out…much…"

Lenna sighed.

"And then everybody started showing up and they all talked and I learned everything that had happened… Severus, Mum… And—and—Dumbledore…" His eyes were shiny with emotion. Lenna grimaced and closed her eyes. Severus… She would have to deal with the pain of the true depth of that betrayal alone; it wasn't something she was going to further burden her son with.

She sat up suddenly, making her head spin. "The apartment—we have to put—"

"Already done," Rigel interrupted, standing in order to put his hands on her shoulders and force her back down onto the bed. "Once things got calm, Calun got Aunt Grace and Kingsley together to put as many enchantments as they could on it. Severus still knows the location, but he won't even be able to enter the perimeter of the complex anymore. No Death Eater will be able to get close. We've got everything on it, Mum. It's as locked down as a magical military complex."

Lenna relaxed again. "Good…I wouldn't want to have to stay at Cal and Grace's indefinitely…"

Rigel chuckled.

"Anyone dead?" she asked him quietly.

Rigel shook his head slowly. "No, no one's dead. The Gryffindor lot in the fighting all managed to stay alive because Harry had some Felix Felicis he gave to Ron and Hermione to administer… But, er, Bill Weasley…he got attacked by Greyback. His face is—well, it's really torn up. And Mr. Lupin thinks he'll bit a little wolfish from now on. Not a true werewolf, but still."

"How's Fleur doing with that?"

Rigel smiled. "Unexpectedly well. She said the scars will show how brave he is. She and Mrs. Weasley reached a sort of understanding over it all, I think. Fleur proved that she actually loves Bill and stuff, you know?"

Lenna nodded. "That's good." At least some love around here had proved itself to be real.

Rigel was watching her face and perhaps his thoughts had gone in a bit of the same direction because she said gently, "Severus' double-cross…I never would have…"

She nodded slowly. She had to be careful here. Rigel knew her better than anyone else on the planet. One give-away expression and he'd end up knowing more than she wanted him to. Her heart was throbbing with disbelief and heartbreak over Severus' inhuman betrayal. It was of a different kind than she'd ever faced; the loss was not as deep as what she had gone through losing Regulus, but there was such a vicious sting to it… A sting that made it feel as if her insides had been singed—burnt in the flames her love had gone up in. Besides that, she couldn't really tell exactly what she was feeling. Everything was too fresh.

"If it weren't for Albus' death, that blow would feel worse than it does."

"Still feels shitty." He sniffed. "I liked him, mum. He reminded me of dad. He was like… I could only see the good hiding in him, not any bad. I even…I even was hoping sort of that you two…" He looked sheepish. "I thought he might be right for you or something. I don't know. I liked him… I thought he liked me too." He put his chin in his hands miserably.

Lenna swallowed with effort. "I liked him too, Ri. I only saw good too… It's frightening someone could dupe us that completely. I let him in my home. Left you alone with him. That's…terrifying."

"I don't understand it." He looked about as hurt and confused as his mother felt.

"Is there any way that Harry was mistaken about it being him that did it…?" She knew it was probably impossible, and all circumstances damned Severus, but the pieces just didn't fit together when she added in what she knew of him. How he'd been like with her. How he'd cared for her son. Everything she'd thought she'd known about him.

Rigel shook his head slowly, grimacing. "No…Harry's certain. I'm sorry, mum. It was Draco Malfoy's assignment to kill the headmaster and when he couldn't do it, Severus stepped forward and preformed the curse. Then he turned tail."

"Yes…I saw all that part. He attacked Harry before he left too." Her throat was tight with all the emotion inside her.

Rigel was quiet for a moment, his face a grimace.

"How'd you get the burns?"

"What? Oh. Some curse." She sighed heavily. "Severus even stopped to tell me the counter before he leapt up the Astronomy Tower steps. To—to kill Albus." Tears were flooding her face again and she was shaking a little. "I don't understand…"

Rigel's arms were around her again. "Maybe he still sort of cares about you. In a twisted way," he muttered. "He's still a backstabbing piece of shite but maybe—"

"No," Lenna growled back. "No man could _care_ about someone and then turn around and destroy their hope and happiness. People aren't like that. He's shown his true colors and that's the bottom line. There was never anything real there. We just saw what we were hoping to see."

Rigel wiped his nose on his sleeve. Lenna looked up at him through her own tears and put a hand on his. It was completely unjust that her boy should have to lose all of his father figures, one after the other. Regulus, Sirius, Severus, even Dumbledore. Everyone he should have been able to look up to and have in his life. There was still Cal. Thank god for Cal.

"I'm so sorry, baby," murmured Lenna.

Rigel smiled tightly at her. "The world's rough, mum. I've known that for a long time." He rubbed her hand with his thumb. "Dumbledore's funeral is the day after tomorrow."

"How long have I been out?"

"Day and a half. Cal's somewhere in the castle—he came that night and has been staying here. He's worried about you."

"I would be too," Lenna sighed.

Rigel smiled a tiny bit.

"Ri, have they been doing any talk about plans? Do we have any direction now that Dumbledore… I feel like this has thrown us into chaos. And weakness. Have they been discussing plans at all?"

Rigel shrugged. "Not really, that I know of. McGonagall's Headmistress and they discussed closing the school but I don't think they're going to. Scrimgeour's here and being housed in the castle with some officials. My O.W.L.s have been postponed. Parents have been taking kids out since that morning—they don't think it's safe enough anymore obviously. Neville's been discharged from the hospital but Bill's still here, he's a few beds down. _Prophet_ says everyone is still looking for Snape but there's no sign, of course." Rigel sighed and added, "Weather's been beautiful."

"I don't know what the Order's going to do now, Ri. We'll keep fighting, obviously. We always will. But without Dumbledore… He always seemed so bloody ageless. Unconquerable. He was our leader. I don't think any of us ever imagined having to face all this without him. He carried the world on his shoulders and I don't feel like we're ready to take it all up ourselves now.

"I'm scared, Ri," she admitted softly. "The Death Eaters were so strong that night. They were more than a match for us—they had the upper hand. And I don't even think that was all of them that had gotten inside the castle… Their ranks have swelled this year while we keep getting picked off. It's bad. It feels like it did before. You Know Who is strong in the shadows and those trying to fight feel like they're constantly getting pulled at by a bad undertow, always about to be sucked under. We can't buckle now under this loss, Ri, or we'll never get the edge back again."

He nodded. "Does it really feel like it did before?"

"Like déjà vu. Like bad déjà vu."

…

Lenna looked down the Ravenclaw table with the ghost of a smile.

"The table's shrunk," she commented.

Rigel chuckled. "No, you're just bigger. They have raspberry jam," he offered, waving a small platter under her nose. His mother looked pale and frail in her elegant black dress robes.

She shook her head and looked away. Rigel knew she always responded to stress and hurt with a lack of appetite.

Cal, however, was eating all the table had to offer on his nephew's other side.

"D'they haff grape?" Cal asked through a mouthful of scrambled egg and sausage.

"Over here, Mr. Albeney," Holly said helpfully, holding up a golden platter with grape jam on it as she scanned the morning's _Prophet_.

"Thanks, sweetie." Cal slathered it over his toast. Holly giggled.

"Bloody hell, Calun," Lenna muttered. "We're going to a funeral."

"No reason I shouldn't be well fed for it."

Lenna sighed and shook her head wearily.

"How'd it go with your mum last night?" Rigel asked Holly.

Holly grimaced. Her mother had arrived at the castle last night to speak with her.

"She wants me to transfer to a different school. Maybe a private place in Austria—we've got some family there and I could stay with them. She says it's better than remaining somewhere where the most evil wizard is always trying to break in and kill people, teachers murder the headmaster, and our educational examinations need to be postponed because prejudiced psychopaths snuck into the school and a fight to the death erupted in the corridors. You have to admit—"

"—she has a point," finished Rigel, nodding dejectedly. "Yeah."

Cal was staring at them, bits of yellow egg stuck in the unshaven scruff around his mouth. "Blimey. When you put it that way… How d'you fancy finishing your education in Ireland with your cousins, Rigel?"

Ri shot him a look. "I'm not going anywhere, Uncle Cal."

"I told Mum the same," said Holly. "And added that I'm just doing what my dad did. Y'know, fighting. She didn't have a leg to stand on there."

"She has _two_ legs to stand on while you're still underage," Lenna interjected.

Holly shook her head. "Maybe so, but my dead dad's always a trump card."

"I'm sure she just doesn't want to see you go the way of him," Lenna told her quietly. "I know the feeling."

Holly nodded but still replied, "I'm sure that is where it comes from, but regardless of it I'm not running away and starting a new life. People need to run _here_ and start helping, not run away to Austria to stay with their second cousins."

Lenna was about to remark that the two of them were still so young, but remembered that she was about the same age when she'd made the decision to make Regulus the rest of her life. She couldn't be a hypocrite. So instead she stood up to siphon breakfast food off her brother's face and dress robes as he thanked her with a sheepish smile.

Rigel looked up toward the staff table and the absence of his two favorite faces there made his heart ache. Dumbledore's throne-like chair was left empty and Severus Snape's place had been taken by the new Minister of Magic, a gruff looking fellow with hair like a lion's mane and sharp eyes to match. Rigel had been hopeful when he'd been made Minister because he'd been a very good Auror, but all he had heard from Harry was that Scrimgeour had taken Fudge's idea to make Harry a Ministry poster child to heart and was after his support in order to raise morale and political support. After all the Ministry had put Harry though, it was a complete wonder why he'd think the idea would fly.

Glancing again at Dumbledore's empty seat, Rigel sat down abruptly and heavily on the bench and put his head down on his arms. He was trying to show his mother—and the world, for that matter—how much he could deal with. But the loss of two men he admired, looked up to, had even loved, cut him deeply in a way that made his breaths shallower and his steps heavier. The betrayal…betrayal from his father's best friend. Someone Rigel had felt like the spirit of his father had pushed into their lives with an invisible helping hand. Someone to fit into his old place. But no, the man had been a bomb, a cancer, lying in wait to hurt them.

Rigel didn't understand why he'd put so much effort into the charade. Why he'd made them feel so close to him only to sadistically rip it away. Guess he'd wanted to make it as hurtful as possible.

He felt empty without them. Even though what Severus had been to him had never been real, he still felt the loss of it as if the man he'd thought Severus was had died. And Dumbledore…it was like losing his grandfather. Someone precious in their wisdom, power, and their kindness…gone now. They were alone and stripped bare. Rigel felt raw.

He felt his mother's hand on his back and realized the Great Hall's somber hum had been snuffed out. He looked up to see Professor McGonagall standing.

"It's nearly time. Please follow your Heads of House out onto the grounds. Gryffindors, after me."


	28. CHAPTER 28: BY THE LAKE

**CHAPTER 28: BY THE LAKE  
><strong>

…

"Father! —to God Himself we cannot give a holier name."  
>-William Wordsworth<p>

…

**E**veryone filed out from their benches in near silence. Lenna and Cal separated themselves to sit with the rest of the guests who weren't students. Slughorn at the head of the Slytherin column was wearing long, emerald green robes embroidered with silver, Professor Sprout was looking cleaner than Rigel had ever seen her, and Madam Pince could be seen in the entrance hall wearing a great black veil that feel to her knees. Tonks' hair was jet black in mourning but one of her hands was holding tightly to Remus Lupin's and that made Rigel smile a little.

They headed towards the lake in the warm sunlight. He spotted his mother again and saw she looked better in the sunshine. It highlighted the beauty of her hair and eyes. She had her arm in Calun's and he was glad for the hundreth time since Cal had arrived that he was here. The two seated themselves in two chairs toward the back of the hundreds that had been set out in rows. An aisle ran down the center of them and a marble table stood at the front, all chairs facing it. An extraordinary assortment of people had already settled into some of the chairs: smart, shabby, old, young, recognizable and complete strangers. There was Kingsley Shacklebolt, Mad-Eye Moody, Mr and Mrs Weasley, Bill supported by Fleur and followed by Fred and George, who were wearing jackets of black dragonskin. Madame Maxime, who took up two-and-a-half chairs on her own, Tom, the landlord of the Leaky Cauldron, the hairy bass player from the wizarding group the Weird Sisters, the castle ghosts, barely visible in the light, the driver of the Knight Bus, Madam Malkin, the barman of the Hog's Head, the witch who pushed the trolley on the Hogwarts Express. He was less happy to see Cornelius Fudge there, clutching his green bowler hat as usual, and even Rita Skeeter and Dolores Umbridge with an unconvincing look to grief on her toady face.

Because they were sitting on the side of the chairs near the lake, Rigel was one of the first people to notice as merpeople began rise close to the surface of the greenish water, singing—softly at first and then louder, their purplish hair flowing around them. They reminded him rather horribly of Inferi, one of the things in the world he most feared, and he twitched uncomfortably and moved a tad closer to Holly. He had to remind himself these people were very much alive with heartbeats and thoughts. It took the edge off his discomfort.

The mersong was strange but not altogether unpleasant. It was obviously an ode to grief and death and when Rigel looked on the faces he was gratified to see they all did look truly sad. It hit him again how extraordinary a man Dumbledore had been, to have inspired such admiration even in people so very different from himself.

He saw movement from the corner of his eye and saw Hagrid walking slowly up the aisle, weeping silently, and holding what must have been Dumbledore's body, wrapped in purple velvet with golden stars on it. Hagrid placed the body carefully upon the marble table and retreated down the aisle, blowing his nose loudly.

Rigel screwed up his face in an effort to keep his composure. All the warmth had gone out of the sunlight. There, in Hagrid's arms, was all that was left of the amazing man Dumbledore had been. All that was left of everything he was. There was something rather closure-giving in the fact that there was a body, however. Rigel had always dealt with death in the abstract—there had not been a body to bury after the deaths of his father or Sirius. It was nice that this mortal coil had not been completely erased from the world… He wondered if Dumbledore had ever read Shakespeare.

Tears were falling down Holly's face and into her lap and onto her clasped hands. Those hands looked so white and fragile there against the black of her lap that he reached over and parted them so he could close his hand around one of hers. She didn't look at him but she held his hand tightly in both of hers.

A little tufty-haired man in plain black robes got to his feet and stood in front of Dumbledore's body. Rigel could barely hear was he was saying. Words floated back over the heads like "nobility of spirit", "intellectual contribution" and "greatness of heart". What Rigel couldn't hear he filled in with his own thoughts. He thought about how Dumbledore did everything amazingly, from kicking You Know Who's ass to sitting with Rigel in his living room, laughing over his grandpa's homemade game board. He also thought about how he wouldn't be here in his life if it weren't for Dumbledore finding them and guiding him and his mother here. He'd found a place and many life-long friends because of him. He'd gotten his mother to fight instead of hide.

His only failing had been to trust too much in the goodness of people.

Hot tears finally found their way out of Rigel's eyes. The greatest of the protectors was dead. The fact that the evilness of the world had in a swift stroke cut its brightest light down was…it filled his insides with acid.

Severus Snape would pay for this.

In spades.

The white-haired man was finished speaking. He sat back down. No one got up. Suddenly, a couple people screamed and Rigel sat back in his chair in surprise. The table on which Dumbledore's body lay had burst into high, bright white flames. Instead of alarming him, after the initial moment of surprise, the flames were soothing. They reminded Rigel of phoenix magic and he wished Dumbledore could be reborn from them like Fawkes could from his.

The flames disappeared and in their place was a white marble tomb, encasing the Dumbledore's body and the table on which it had rested. On the other side of the chairs, a flurry of arrows shot into the air and landed short of the crowd; the centaur's tribute to Dumbledore.

People began getting up and a hum of solemn talking stirred up from the crowd but Rigel remained where he was.

People stirred and swirled around him as he looked out over the lake. He watched as Harry got up and walked off by himself. Watched as Scrimgeour detached himself from the crowd and followed him. They talked for a while as they walked and then the Minister stalked off, looking perturbed. Harry's face had remained looking placid the entire time as he pushed back against the pressure the Minister had no doubt exercised upon him. He seemed stronger than the Minister; a man made of steel created from a mixture of loss and purpose. It gave Rigel strength to see him standing there, weary but grimly determined. Rigel knew he was thinking of the future, of all that was left to them to do, and it was as if he could tangibly see the responsibility that Dumbledore used to shoulder settling upon Harry like a mantle. Harry held under its weight and it heartened Rigel. They still had a leader. He knew Harry must really be full of doubt and fear, but the image he presented to the world was one of strength and purpose. That was exactly how Rigel knew his father Regulus had been like, too.

Rigel shifted his gaze to look out over the lake. The sun sparkled on it and a breeze wafted his hair. Maybe he was crazy, but he felt as if he could feel time in that breeze. And in a way he had never felt before, he felt his father inside of him. He felt his blood, his grit, his rock-hard composure and that soul-deep _something_ that his father had had—a sort of _savoir faire_, a sense of dignity and pride in the face of opposition. His ability to use love as a ballast, never a weakness.

He felt as if he could feel his father here; on the shore, in the breeze, in his fingertips. He'd walked in this grass, skipped stones on this lake, perhaps thought the same thoughts. The strength of that bolstered him. He was his father's son and he was growing into that fact more fully every year. The happiness of that flowed through him, stopping tears. His heart's most fervent desire had always been to become the kind of man his father had been.

And in that moment, he knew that he would.

He brought up Holly's hand and kissed it soundly, finally taking his eyes from the lake. She must have seen the new strength in his eyes, because looking at him took the despair from hers. He brought her to her feet and brushed away her tears with his hands.

"Everything will be alright, little duck," he told her gently. "If others do not, then I will make it so."

Holly pressed herself into his arms and Rigel held her, looking out over the sea of heads until he spotted his mother standing with Cal.

Lenna watched her son embrace the girl he loved and her breath caught in her chest. She'd never seen him looking more like his father. She leaned back, knowing Cal was right behind her. As if he could read her mind, he let her lean against his chest, her head on his shoulder, and he put his arms around her.

"Cal," she said, her voice thick. "Calun, he's going to be alright."

"Hm?"

"Rigel. Look at him. Nothing can take him down. He won't let it. He's stronger even than I am. Oh Calun, he's become his father." She turned to bury her head in his neck and shook with breathless, half-joyful sobs.

Cal looked over the heads and stared toward his nephew. From that distance, with the light at his back, the similarity was more than striking. He felt himself chuckle, a sound quite out of place at a funeral.

"Well, I never was the biggest fan of that man of yours, but he's done an alright job with that boy considering the circumstances," he said, smiling gently. "Been with him every step of the way, I reckon. Taking care of you through him, shaping the rascal into a man. Leaving me without anything much to do." He grinned as his sister laughed into the front of his dress robes. Cal looked toward Rigel again. He was stoking Holly's hair and looking out over the grounds, looking years older than he was.

"Well done, Reg," said Cal softly. "Well done."


	29. CHAPTER 29: HOWL

**CHAPTER 29: HOWL  
><strong>

…

"_Be careful of the curse that falls on lovers_  
><em>Starts so soft and sweet and turns them to hunters<em>"  
>-Florence + the Machine<p>

…

**D**inah eventually decided that the current safest place in the apartment from moving tables, flying dust, and ruffling carpets was right next to Rigel on the dining room table. Perhaps even right on top of the book he was so avidly reading.

"Dinah," Rigel sighed, standing up to lift the cat off of his book. "You can't lay there, I'm reading that."

She placed herself close to Rigel's elbow instead and watched the activity in the living room with large, green eyes. Rigel too stopped consuming the book of hexes and curses he'd recently purchased in order to watch his mother.

Lenna had already destroyed dirt on the molecular level throughout their entire home and now she was manually shifting all the furniture in their living room around. This had to be about the third configuration she'd decided against.

Rigel had lived with her for going on sixteen years. She often let dust bunnies the size of his fist collect in the corners and under the display cabinet. She only did things like this when she was upset. Cleaning and making things different made her feel like she was doing something and it took her mind off whatever was upsetting her.

"You know you own a wand, mum," he commented over the sound of the largest couch scooting across the floor. "And you can actually use it, unlike your deprived underage son."

"I like—doing it—by hand," she replied in between heaves. "It gives me more—satisfaction."

"You probably just can't find it," he teased.

She shot him a look. "It's on the footstool, thank you very much." She stood up and wiped some perspiration from her chin with the back of her hand. "Find anything good in that book?"

"Loads," he replied, looking longingly at the pages he'd dog-eared. "I hate not being able to try them out. Doesn't the Order have connections at the Ministry? Couldn't someone just lift the Trace on me?"

Lenna snorted. "Yeah, sure, we can get the Ministry to lift an age-old magical law for you—we'll get right on that."

Rigel sighed. "Bugger."

"Even if it were possible, we don't really have 'connections' in the Ministry anymore. We have no idea where You Know Who has his hooks in and where he doesn't. We're treating the entire Ministry now as something infected."

"But doesn't that leave it even more vulnerable—without the Order's protection?"

"We're still trying to guard what we can, but our resources are stretched thin. You know that."

"Yeah, but…even though the Ministry's rotted in, we still can't let it fall. If the whole thing falls to You Know Who—if our government falls—it'll send the wizarding world into chaos. Everybody'll be that much more afraid, that much more hopeless. The recruiting we're trying to do would get nowhere."

"_Or_ the shock of it will send more people into our ranks. Remember that You Know Who loves to work in the shadows, Ri. He knows that openly seizing power would inspire a wave of people to work against him. But by keeping back he never gives the world that jolt to rebel. You can't rebel against a shadow."

"We can't let him control Law Enforcement, though, mum. That would put all Muggles at such risk. Government exists for a reason, we can't just abandon it in the hopes that the absence of it will help our cause."

"We're not, Ri, I just told you. We're guarding everything we can." She pushed the coffee table over two feet.

Rigel almost asked her what was bothering her. But he knew she would of her own volition talk to him about things she wanted to talk about. This was something she did not. Something she was trying to deal with on her own.

It wouldn't cause Rigel as much worry by itself, but she hadn't been sleeping well either. He'd wake up some nights to use the bathroom across the hall and see a light on in the kitchen or living room. He knew her sleepless habits; she would be found leaning against the counter with a cup of hot tea or sitting in the living room reading if he were to look around the corner. Hopefully not sitting on the couch with her head in her hands, crying. But he didn't know.

She began to glance up at him with irritation as he continued to watch her and so he stopped and pushed aside his book. He got up and went to the wire letter basket on their kitchen counter and scooped out the two in there that were for him—one from Holly and one from Scott. He'd written Harry a few days ago but didn't really expect a reply seeing as how busy he was bound to be now.

Lenna too, apparently finally deciding her current configuration of furniture was acceptable, also inspected the collection of wizarding post that had amassed in their kitchen. She picked a heavier off-white envelope out from the rest and suddenly smiled widely.

"I think I know what this is."

"What?" Rigel leaned over to look. The only thing written on the outside was _Lenna and Rigel Black_ and so he looked at his mother quizzically.

"The invitation to Bill and Fleur's wedding."

"_Excellent_!" Rigel nabbed the letter and tore it open. "It's in a month. I wish it were sooner!" He sat back in a chair at the kitchen table, reading the wedding invitation with his face alight. Lenna knew he longed to be back in the Order scene with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George with all its secret meetings and the peculiar atmosphere of underground rebellion tinged with danger mixed with the warm comfort of a big, close family. He sometimes got downright pouty that he wasn't able to spend the summer at the Weasleys'.

"Mum," said Rigel, looking up, "will we ever be able to use dad's house as a base again?"

His reference to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place as his 'dad's house' saddened Lenna.

"No, honey. Severus knows the location intimately—and is a brilliant wizard, besides…there's no way we could protect the place well enough ever again to be safe there."

Rigel looked unsurprised but still crestfallen. He had come to see Grimmauld as another home.

"Kreacher's there all alone," he commented.

"He's used to it."

Rigel probably would have been more concerned for the elf had Kreacher not sold his uncle Sirius to Lord Voldemort at the end of his fourth year.

"All dad's stuff is there."

"I took the box here before everything happened."

"Really?"

"It's under my bed."

"That's good. We might have had to storm the place to get it if not."

Lenna smiled a little. "I doubt it's very heavily guarded—they know we'd never use it as a base now. That's not to say that you should go there, though," she hastily added. "Plus if you did you'd probably hit some nasty protections against Snape that Moody said he was going to cast."

Rigel made a face. Moody had been his Defense professor his third year and though intimidating, Rigel had appreciated his accelerated and no-nonsense approach to teaching about the Dark Arts. Of course Rigel had eventually come to learn that Moody had not in fact been Moody at all but a Death Eater, and after that getting to know the man seemed too dodgy an enterprise.

Lenna made them lunch as Rigel sent replies back to the letters, and then she spread some work out on the dining table and stretched out a very rough draft of her next _Daily Prophet_ article.

"So," she said to him when he came back into the room a few hours into her working, "_The Prophet _is sending me to Paris all-expenses paid next week for my next assignment." She grinned at him. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but haven't you expressed in the past a desire to see _Le Boulevard d'Atlantes_?"

Rigel's face lit up. "_Yes_!"

"Looks like we're going on a trip, then."

He fist-pumped the air. "Aw, brilliant!"

After making reservations in the boulevard's most famous motel, Lenna wished her son a goodnight and then went into her bedroom. She changed into only a soft shirt and underpants and pulled the covers back from her bed. Dinah loped into the room and jumped up onto the bed to keep her company as she did on most nights; Lenna often joked she was married to her cat and one side of the bed was hers. As Dinah snuggled down into the far pillow, Lenna pulled the covers over onto herself as well and lay there with the lights still on.

She closed her eyes and slowly tried to relax her body. She was so stiff these days. She remembered how Regulus used to sit behind her on his bed with his legs around her on either side and knead her shoulders and back with his perfect hands, and ached wishing, as she had incalculable times, that he could still be with her. She pretended to be strong enough to brave this world, its dangers, and motherhood without a partner, but no one should ever have to be that strong. And she had heaved up her soul for another man for the first time in sixteen years and it had been the most destructive force she had experienced in all that time. She felt cursed.

For her son she was a goddess. A force of nature, an unbreakable, independent, all-knowing woman. Someone who could not get broken into pieces because she had already endured one of the worst things life could throw. But god, it was not true. She felt like a little girl. Vulnerable, weak, and wounded. Severus' betrayal had torn her down.

Tears ran down across her temples and onto the pillow beneath her. There was something cruelly isolating in needing to curl up and howl with misery and not being permitted that. She had to contain it, and so the howl seared her insides because it wasn't allowed out.

She looked over at her bedside table and impulsively reached over for the small phial on a thin chain lying on her bedside table that she had just taken off along with her clothes. She slowly unscrewed the delicate top, pulled the neckline of her shirt down, and allowed one careful drop to fall onto the skin above her breast bone.

It soaked slowly into her skin but changed nothing.


	30. CHAPTER 30: BARNY POTTER

Credits to J. K. Rowling from whose book, Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows, I've copied parts of this chapter directly from.

…

**CHAPTER 30: BARNY POTTER  
><strong>

…

"By god, there'll be dancing!"  
>-My Best Friend's Wedding<p>

…

"**Y**our tie's wrong, honey. How on earth have you gone sixteen years without learning properly?"

Rigel grinned as his mother as she retied his knot with nimble fingers. "Why learn properly when I always have lovely women around to help me?"

Lenna chuckled. "Ah, the Black family arrogance."

"Yes, I'm descended from a long line of murderers, inbreeders, and psychos, don't forget it."

His mother made a face. "My genetic material makes up for it."

"That's what _you_ think."

"Actually…" She stepped back from him a bit, eyeing his outfit with a critical gaze. "The tie's too much, I think. Just go in that shirt and dress pants and those new shoes we bought. It's far too hot for full dress robes."

"Won't we stick out if we're dressed like Muggles?"

"You're not dressed like a Muggle, just more comfortably." She pulled off his tie and unbuttoned his shirt slightly. "There, perfect."

"Okay. And that dress is excellent, like I told you."

Lenna glanced at herself in the mirror. She and Rigel and picked out each others' outfits for the wedding on their visit to Paris. He'd chosen a black dress with elegant pink flowers on it, and she'd done her hair and makeup with more care today than she had in a while.

"You look good in pink," he said, "I don't know why you never wear it. Too girly for you?"

Lenna shrugged. "My mother wears a lot of pink."

"That explains it. Oh! I almost forgot." He grabbed his sunglasses off a shelf and put them on. "I need these."

"…Why?"

"As a shield against the blinding power to reduce men to babbling idiots that Miss Delacour is sure to have turned up to full blast today." He grinned and gave her two thumbs-up.

Lenna giggled. "Good thinking."

Rigel pushed them back so they rested on top of his head, smiling.

"You're very debonair right now, darling. Perhaps you should bring along a baseball bat as well to keep the lovely young witches off of you."

He patted his robe pocket. "I've always got my wand."

Lenna opened the door. "All men do."

"Mum!"

She laughed. Dinah came into the room, meowing sadly.

Rigel squatted to stroke her. She meowed plaintively again. "I bet she misses Crookshanks. Can we take her, mum? I'll let her go right when we get there and she can just frolic in the yard until we go."

"The Weasleys are going to have enough guests as it is, Ri. She seemed quite stressed at our last meeting. That's why we couldn't go early."

"We could've camped out in their yard."

"Molly still would have had to feed us and would have had you underfoot. I'm trying to make it all as easy on her as possible."

"Come on, please? Dinah won't cause any trouble."

Lenna looked down at her cat and it looked as if her lovely, large eyes had a plea in them the same as her son's. "Okay," she relented with a smile. "Just make sure she doesn't make a nuisance of herself or get lost or something."

"'Course. You have your purse? Wand?"

"Yes, yes."

"Okay." He grinned, Dinah in one arm. "We're a bit early for once. Let's go!"

She took his hand and Apparated to the edge of the Weasley's property. Rigel shook himself from the disorientation of Apparating and beamed ear to ear when he saw the great white marquee in the orchard. Dinah mewed excitedly.

"It's sad you didn't get a wedding like this, mum."

"Mine was perfect, darling—it made your father my husband."

Rigel walked a few steps in with Dinah and then put her down and towed his mother quickly up the path across the yard. He was excited to see all the friends he hadn't seen in a while. He grinned when he looked at the collection of white-robed waiters and the golden-jacketed band all sitting under a large tree, smoking from pipes.

"Fred! George! Ron!"He finally broke into a jog and punched Fred jokingly in the shoulder when he reached them.

"Rigel, hey," Ron said, giving him a smile. "Merlin, I wish I'd been able to dress as comfortably as you." He tugged on the collar of his dress robes which must have been sweltering under the sun's glare. "Nice shades."

"Maybe they'll ward off Fleur's vela power, eh?"

Ron gave a wan laugh; he'd been the easy victim of too many veela to find that very funny.

"Pretty sure Bill's gonna be the only one on the receiving end of all that today," said George.

Rigel had been ignoring a rather unattractive red-headed young man next to Ron—a relative of the Weasleys, no doubt—and he stuck is hand out to him politely.

"Hello, I'm Rigel."

All four of them laughed and Rigel looked around at them, confused. The red-headed guy shook his hand.

"Barny."

"Nice to meet you…" He stared at Ron who was chortling with mirth. "What am I missing here?" he asked.

"Harry," Fred answered him. "You're missing Harry."

"Yeah, I was going to ask where he was." Rigel craned his neck to look around the orchard. "Is he inside?"

The four boys all laughed again.

"Alright, what the bloody hell is up?" Rigel demanded with a grin.

"I'm right here, Rigel," Barny said.

"OH! Hi, Harry!" Rigel hugged him. "You should've picked a better-looking Muggle, mate."

The four laughed.

"This bloke was the best red-head for the job we could find," George explained. "We're just going to call him our cousin and camouflage him that way."

Rigel sniggered. "Cousin Barny…"

"Shuttup."

Lenna was chatting with Arthur, Remus, and Tonks outside the marquee by the front garden.

"Yes, Harry's the one with the curly hair—it looks like Rigel just figured it out."

They watched Rigel hug the curly-haired boy and laugh about something.

"Oh, here they come," Arthur said, watching brightly-colored figured beginning to appear at the distant boundary of the yard. Within minutes, a procession had formed. Tonks took Lupin's arm.

"Best get in line."

Lenna followed after them as Arthur left to see to something else. Fred ended up being the Weasley to see her to her seat.

"Right this way, Mrs. Black," he said, smiling and taking her arm gallantly.

"You can call me Lenna if you'd like, Fred," she replied. "Mrs. Black makes me think of that horrendous portrait of Walburga in the Grimmauld front hallway. It _is_ Fred, right?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm the one with both ears."

Lenna's face fell. "Right, I had forgotten…" That had been a hard night a month ago. She had ended up being the odd one out because there were an uneven number of Order members, so she had not helped in the flight with Harry from Privet Drive on the 27th, but had instead waited with Molly at their home. Mudungus had fled, Moody had died, and George had lost an ear due to a curse leveled at him by Severus Snape. Even after everything, every new evil that Severus committed against them stung her afresh.

She had wanted Rigel to remain safely away in their apartment and he had wanted to be part of the flight-from-Privet-Drive brigade, and they had compromised with him being there waiting with her at the Weasley's. Since that night he had been petitioning the Order to become a member so that there was no excuse for him to be left out of Order missions like that; Remus had politely heard him out, but, as Fred had told Rigel, his mother would have probably cursed Remus' manhood off if he had even shown signs of even thinking about allowing Rigel membership before he had come of age.

Fred saw her downcast expression and patted her arm in his comfortingly. "Well, I think you'd make a much lovelier portrait."

Lenna smiled. "I might scream just as much."

"Who wouldn't? I imagine it's terribly dull being a painting." He smiled at her a last time before going back up the aisle, and Lenna took her seat and introduced herself to the strangers seated beside her.

Rigel was saying hello to Luna Lovegood and meeting her equally-odd father. Before long everyone had taken their seats and warm, excited murmuring filled the large tent. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley strode up the aisle, smiling and waving at relatives; Mrs. Weasley was wearing a brand new set of amethyst-colored robes with a matching hat.

A moment later Bill and Charlie stood up at the front of the marquee, both wearing dress robes and long white roses in their button holes. Fred wolf-whistled and there was an outbreak of giggling from the veela cousins. Then the crowd fell silent as music swelled from what seemed to be the golden balloons floating above where Bill and Fleur were very soon to become husband and wife.

A collective sigh issued from the assembled witches and wizards as Monsieur Delacour and Fleur came walking up the aisle, Fleur gliding, Monsieur Delacour bouncing and beaming. Fleur was wearing a simple white dress and seemed to be emitting a silvery glow which beautified everyone it fell upon. Ginny and Fleur's little sister Gabrielle, both wearing golden dresses, looked even prettier than usual, and once Fleur reached him, Bill did not look as though he had ever met Fenrir Greyback.

"We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls…"

As Rigel listened to the old, musical words, he looked around him at the other guests with perceptive eyes. He caught Ginny winking at Harry who she was currently dating, Tonks kissing Remus' hand—and the surprising and worrisome way that Remus' face fell when she had looked away. He looked at Viktor Krum, the famous Quidditch Seeker that Harry, Ron, and Hermione had been talking to earlier, and saw his eyes linger on both Hermione and Ginny. He saw his mothers hands balled into loose fists in her lap and he reached out and put a hand on one of hers. She unfisted her hands and gave him a thin smile. It didn't touch her eyes—her smiles rarely had since the end of his last school year when Headmaster Dumbledore had died. She was afraid, he knew. And betrayed.

She leaned over and took her camera out of her purse. She held it up and quietly snapped a couple photographs. She turned with a wicked grin and caught one of him, too. He rolled his eyes and paid attention to the officiant again while she put the camera away.

"Do you, William Arthur take Fleur Isabel…?"

Rigel saw Mrs. Weasley and Madame Delacour both sobbing quietly into scraps of lace in the front row. Hagrid was sobbing more nosily a few rows from the back, and even Hermione and Ginny's eyes were not dry.

"Then I declare you bonded for life."


	31. CHAPTER 31: COLLAPSE

Credits to J. K. Rowling from whose book, Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows, I've copied parts of this chapter directly from.

…

**CHAPTER 31: COLLAPSE  
><strong>

…

"Well, gentlemen, when the shit hits the fan, some guys run and some guys stay."  
>-Scent of a Woman, Lt. Col. Frank Slade<p>

…

**T**he wizard waved his wand high over the heads of Bill and Fleur and a shower of silver stars fell upon them, spiraling around their now entwined fingers. As Fred and George led a round of applause, the golden balloons overhead burst: birds of paradise and tiny golden bells flew and floated out of them, adding their songs and chimes to the din.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" called the wizard. "If you would please stand up!"

They all did so, a very elderly and bad-tempered aunt of Ron's grumbling audibly, and then the wizard waved his wand again. The seats on which they had been sitting rose gracefully into the air as the canvas walls of the marquee vanished, so that they stood beneath a canopy supported by golden poles, with a glorious view of the sunlit orchard and surrounding countryside. Next, a pool of molten gold spread from the center of the tent to form a gleaming dance floor; the hovering chairs grouped themselves around small, white-clothed tables, and the golden-jacketed band trooped toward the podium.

"Smooth," Ron commented approvingly as the waiters appeared on all sides, some bearing silver trays of pumpkin juice, butterbeer, and firewhiskey, others tottering piles of tarts and sandwiches. Rigel nabbed a tart and Lenna got a table with Tonks, Remus, and the new people she'd met earlier. Tonks and Remus were newlyweds themselves; Tonks couldn't seem happier, but there seemed to be something heavy weighing on Remus' mind, though he hid it from his new wife.

"Remus," Lenna said sternly while Tonks was yards away and occupied showing a new acquaintance her metamorphic powers, "what's going on with you? You're acting like your mother died but you don't want anyone else to know."

Remus grimaced and lowered his eyes to the white tablecloth. He played with a pretty glass marble that decorated the table in his thin, scratched fingers. "Nymphadora and I are going to have a baby." His tone and expression made it obvious that the usual response of "congratulations" was not in order.

"And you're afraid the baby will face the same hardships you face," she guessed.

His face had turned slightly gray. There was anger in his eyes, but it was not anger at her. When he said nothing in reply she asked, "Is it certain it will?"

"We…don't know. My kind don't generally breed. I'm disgusted with myself, Lenna. I've made Tonks an outcast, passed this hell onto an innocent child…"

"Remus, you're a noble man who's far too hard on himself, so I understand how you can see things that way, but it's the _wrong_ way. I married and had a child with a Death Eater. That life was tough and cruel at times, but I never regretted marrying for love, and I got far more blessings out of it than I did pain. I'm sure that's the exact same way Tonks feels. Love and new children are blessings, Remus. _Blessings_. It might be hard, but don't you dare regret loving a woman or making a life with her. That's bloody stupid."

Remus nodded stiffly, but his eyes were still full of self-loathing. Tonks rescued him by popping up beside them again and asking him to dance with her. Lenna moved to the other side of the table to better see the dance floor and all the people and busied herself in taking pictures and feeding Dinah bits of sandwiches under the table.

She blinked as a handsome young man appeared right in front of the table she was sitting in and looked right into the lens she was holding to her eyes.

"Somebody should stop hiding behind that camera."

Lenna lowered it to look at him in surprise.

"Come dance, love. It's a wedding, you know."

His teeth were very even, and he sounded like he was from northern England; his voice had a hint of Scottish. She put down her camera and smiled, allowing the young man to take her hand and lead her out onto the floor.

"I'm Finley. Friend of Bill's."

"Lenna. Bill's younger brother's friend's mother."

"Mother, eh?"

"Yeah, I'm probably a bit too old for you."

"Obviously I didn't think so, love." He spun her gracefully. Lenna smiled, enjoying it. She hadn't danced in a long time.

Rigel had stolen Ginny from Harry for a dance and he swept by his mother, smirking. She didn't point him out to her partner, though she shot him a suave wink.

The reception was lovely; more serious conversation were happening at the tables—in particular she saw the disguised Harry deep in conversation with Elphias Doge and Ron's cranky aunt—but Finley kept her busy. Hermione was dancing with Ron, looking beautiful, and Lenna's son had somehow managed to either pry a veela or perhaps half-veela cousin from one of the Weasley twins for a few dances—or he had found one of his own. She looked a bit young and often gazed up at Rigel in admiration.

Finley looked up as a silvery shape fell toward the dance floor. The silver lynx landed lightly and the loud, deep voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt ensured from the wide-open mouth of the Patronus.

"_The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming_."

Most heads of the festive crowd were only just turning toward the Patronus as it disappeared—they hadn't heard. Even Rigel was slow on the uptake. Lenna was the first to react.

"WANDS!" she yelled out. "_The Ministry has fallen_!"

There was a crackling in the air that made the hairs on Lenna's arms stand up. People were beginning to panic. Someone tried to Disapparate and did so; the protective charms on the Weasley property had fallen.

Lenna hissed an expletive. "The charms are down!" she yelled to Rigel.

Her son, who had been standing near Ginny and his Veela admirer, suddenly took hold of Ginny's wrist and reached for the Veela girl's but her father got their first and Apparated her away.

"No—don't—!" Ginny cried before Rigel spun her away into space with him. As he Apparated, so did Hermione with Harry and Ron in tow. A few moments later, Rigel was back, wand drawn.

"You should go unless you know how to duel, Fin," Lenna said, and as she said it, streaks of sinister light began raining down accompanied by the first smoky Apparating Death Eaters.

After casting a quick but strong Protective Charm over herself, she hit one Death Eater out of the sky before he had even landed. There were more screams now. Instead of fighting, Rigel was nobly helping adults Apparate all the underage out.

The place was soon deserted of all those who were not Order. She saw Bill and Fleur fighting together to protect Molly and Arthur's home and felt a rise of fury. This _had_ to happen on Bill and Fleur's _wedding_ _day_! She snarled incoherently, dueling sideways to present a smaller target and showing her teeth in a vicious smile when her nonverbal curses cut down the men before her.

Rigel had joined her again and they fought-side-by-side as was their pleasure.

"Harry and Ron and—?" he yelled toward her.

"Hermione got them out!"

Rigel looked relieved, although it was hard to tell under his grimace of hatred toward the Death Eaters swarming the Weasley's property.

"_Get the fuck out of here_!" he snarled, running at two younger-seeming Eaters, his fast-moving wand blazing curses and hexes. The two Eaters turned tail. The rest of the Order was putting up such a fight that soon the Weasley's property would be secured.

"_Ginny_?" Molly was screaming.

"I got her to a safe place, Mrs. Weasley!" Rigel shouted from across the yard to explain. "I knew she was going to try and fight—I'll go get her!"

He was back a moment later with her—the young woman was so red in the face from fury that her skin matched her hair. She wrenched herself away from Rigel with such disgust that he almost fell over and Mrs. Weasley ran to embrace her as Remus cut down the last Death Eater with a spell that separated the man's head from his shoulders. He cleaned away the body with another swipe and turned to catch Tonks as she pressed herself into his arms.

"Thank you, Rigel," Molly exclaimed with feeling, wrapping him in a hug. "She hates you for it, but I'm so grateful…" Fred and George and Bill also clapped hands to Rigel's back in thanks. Ginny glowered.

Lenna added her knowledge of protective spells to that of the rest of the Order to protect the Weasley's house as best they could as Arthur sent a Patronus to Ron to reassure him of the family's safety. She found her poor cat in the bushes surrounded by frightened gnomes and picked her up and cuddled her, making reassuring cooing sounds.

Fleur and Bill went into the house first and the other Order members helped each other clean up and take down the wedding decorations. As Lenna headed back inside she could hear Ginny arguing with Rigel.

"Don't you ever—_ever_—do that _again_," she growled. "How _dare_ you just take me away from my _family_ like that—"

"I was trying to keep you safe!"

"Who keeps _you_ safe, idiot? You're just the same age as me!"

"Ginny, I've been studying dueling since I was nine. My father was a Death Eater—"

"Your father could be _Merlin_ for all I care—"

"Point is I duel better than you—"

"You pompous git!"

"Yes, but it's true, and your family was happy I did what I did—that should show you that I did the right thing—"

"_It wasn't right_!"

"_Look_!" he exclaimed. "Maybe I'm arrogant, maybe I'm underestimating you, maybe I'm being a git, but I don't really care! I'm still going to try and keep safe the people I can keep safe! Deal with it!" He stormed away.

"Aw, look at them," commented George fondly. "Fighting over who gets to beat up Death Eaters. Those were the good old days."

"He's just trying to be a hero, sis!" Fred called to her.

"I'm sick of boys trying to be heroes!" Ginny yelled back.

"Is that why you're dating Harry? To get away from heroes for a change?"

"Shuttup!"

"Funny thing about women, Ri—they_do_ tend to like it better when you assume they're just as talented as you are," George said to him, smirking.

"Facing a Death Eater attack is not a time when I'm willing to keep that in mind," Rigel muttered in reply. "Did you see Mr. Lupin curse the head of that last one? That could just as easily have been Ginny's head in the grass."

This thought sobered the twins' smirks.

"We're glad you did it, Rigel."

"Because if you hadn't, it's us she would be pissed at right now because we would've done the same thing to her." Fred's grin was back.

Rigel rolled his eyes. He found his mother on one of the Weasley's couches with Dinah in her lap. He sat down beside her and she put an arm around him.

"I completely forgot about Dinah," Rigel said. "She okay?"

"She's fine."

"Mum, I saw you use a curse that put huge gashes in one of the Eaters and I'd never seen it before. Will you teach me next chance we have?"

She nodded. "I learned that one from your dad."

"I wish he was here," Rigel said quietly. He knew it was a childish thing to say, but he couldn't help thinking it.

"So do I. More than anything."

He turned to look at her face. "Is everything okay, mum? You've been sort of…"

She looked away. "The fight at the end of last school year…Dumbledore's death…it rocked me a little, Ri. And I'm worried about you at Hogwarts this coming year. You Know Who is putting Death Eaters on staff. Muggle-born children are going to have it very hard."

"We'll all keep fighting, though, mum. Just like when Umbridge was Headmistress."

"Umbridge was still under the umbrella of the Ministry."

"So are the Eaters, though. Mr. Lupin told me that You Know Who isn't openly controlling the Ministry because that would whip normal people into rebelling. He's working behind the scenes. It'll be the same thing at Hogwarts. It'll be bad, but not quite bad enough that the relatives of students start rebelling."

"People are terrified. It would take a lot of bad for normal people to stand up. The Death Eaters will have a lot of leeway."

Rigel shrugged. "Students will outnumber them if worst comes to worst."

"The students will be just as frightened as their parents are."

"The people that are left from Dumbledore's Army—and the teachers—we'll make sure things don't get to bad."

"Just be careful."

"I can't believe Severus is going to be Headmaster," Rigel muttered. Luckily he wasn't looking up as his mother and so he missed the intense spasm of pain that crossed her face at the mention of the man's name.

"Be especially careful of _him_."

"I know." His expression was terribly sad. "Merlin. I really liked that git."

Lenna didn't trust herself to reply. She petted Dinah while knives sliced up her insides.

"So the Ministry's defeated, Hogwarts is under the jurisdiction of Death Eaters, the Order is now forever without its fearless leader, and Harry Potter is Merlin-knows-where on the run," Rigel sighed gloomily. "Gonna be a jolly good year."


	32. CHAPTER 32: LICORICE WANDS

A/N: Marlena is pronounced Mar-LEE-na

…

**CHAPTER 32: LICORICE WANDS  
><strong>

…

"I don't need a friend who changes when I change and who nods when I nod; my shadow does that much better."  
>-Plutarch<p>

…

"**T**hey threatened you?"

"Of course they did." Lenna gazed at a framed photograph of her and Regulus that was hanging on Cal's living room wall. "Law Enforcement demanded that Rigel appear in court for his rather large bit of underage magic at the interrupted wedding reception and they threatened my job. Thankfully I've got just as much leverage against the Death-Eater soaked Ministry as they have against me. They backed off Rigel, but my job is…precarious." She turned to look at him and took a carrot stick from the bowl he had in his lap. "I'm already looking for a different publication to work for. They'll try and cow Rigel into good behavior by threatening to fire me. I'd quit myself—except the spying and encoding I do for the Order is of value." She sat down next to her brother and nibbled the carrot.

"So you should stay until they fire you and meanwhile tell Rigel to ignore the threats they make against you. And the family. We're protected—mum and dad too."

She nodded, eyes distant.

A thought crossed Cal's mind and he asked, "Think they're going to intercept owls?"

"Minerva and Harry's will probably get routinely intercepted…well, except Hedwig's gone. I guess if everyone uses school owls they won't be able to identify them well enough to intercept. And I doubt Sir Gawain is on anyone's radar. Should be fine."

"How's school going to be for him?" Cal asked her, concern in his brow and eyes. "How bad is it all?"

"Bad," she muttered, downcast. "Don't worry Grace with the details, but yeah…the Ministry is under You Know Who and his followers' direct control—including all its branches—which means Muggle-borns are in dire straits… I wouldn't be surprised if they started up interrogations again like they did the last time. Y'know, taking wands from those who can't prove they're related to a witch or wizard. A lot of people fired. More raids of homes are going to start if they haven't already. As for Hogwarts, Kingsley tells us that Severus is going to be Headmaster and the Carrow brother and sister are going to be teachers. Heads of discipline, more like. They're going to teach the Dark Arts instead of defense from it. Muggle-born students are going to be harassed, possibly killed off. I don't know how bad it's going to get. But the minute children start dying, I imagine all the decent professors are going to stand and revolt, along with students."

"Why doesn't everyone just rise right now and prevent these people from taking over the school?"

Lenna shrugged. "To be honest, that's what I'd like, but the strength for it isn't there right now. No bad things have happened yet—people don't have the incentive. And Minerva and Sprout and such are all staying to try to protect and help the students and the situation as best they can." She sighed. "Everyone is just struggling and trying to make do, and You Know Who loves that. He likes those who would oppose him weak and cowed."

"Have you given any thought to having Rigel take this year in Ireland with the girls?" Cal asked.

Lenna laughed a little. "Yeah, it's crossed my mind, but I also know there's no chance of Rigel accepting that. He wants to be in the action and where his friends are. Wants to fight. I can understand that."

"Your son has a bit of an overdeveloped sense of vengeance concerning his father."

"Oh, he's not that bad, considering. And there's nothing I can do about that, anyway."

"Seen him duel, Len? He's terrifying."

"So am I."

Cal rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it's both of you. I worry about your gung-ho attitudes. It's the kind of thing that gets people killed."

"You've never seen the Order fight—it's not just us, Calun. And if we can't be a force to be reckoned with, who will be?"

"True." He bit into a piece of broccoli and made a face. "Grace makes me eat this rabbit food."

"It's good for you." She smiled a little, then asked tentatively, "How's the situation with Grace's mum? Does she still think it's somehow your fault that her daughter and three of her grandchildren aren't 'safe'?"

Cal grimaced. "Gracie visited them and managed to convince her that we're acceptably secure here—and that distance doesn't make a difference anyway, what with the whole Apparition thing us magical people can do."

Lenna did not smile at his feeble joke.

"But," he continued, "especially after all you just said, I certainly can't blame her for wanting us away from here. Even though distance doesn't really matter, it tends to feel like it does. She only knows what little the people out of the inside loop know, too. If she knew everything it would be a lot harder to pacify her."

Lenna nodded. "I'm worried about the trouble Rigel's bound to stir up at Hogwarts this year," she admitted. "With the core of the old student resistance gone, I bet you he's going to take up as one of the new leaders. And get punished for it."

"He's not an idiot, though, Len. He'll know where to draw the line so he doesn't get into trouble he can't cope with."

"Will he?" she murmured. "His dad didn't."

"He will. He's sixteen. He'll make the right decisions. Worry about him, sure, but trust him, too." He smiled. She smiled back at him.

"Thanks, Cal."

…

Things felt different.

Rigel pulled his trunk up onto the train and looked up and down the corridor. Voices were more hushed, and some friendly faces were conspicuously absent. Parents' faces looked gaunt with anxiousness and worry. Even the beady eyes of the pet owls looked more fearful.

Harry Potter wasn't here to guard the school from Lord Voldemort anymore. Everyone was on their own and most didn't know who to trust.

He was there early and found an empty compartment right next to where he came in. He put his trunk and Sir Gawain's cage in it and then went back out and off the train to hug his mother goodbye.

"Make good choices," she said. "I love you."

"Love you too, mum."

"Remember to use your scrying stone the minute that—"

"I will, mum."

"Alright, go on, then. Please be careful of—of Snape."

"I know." He stepped back up onto the train, gave her a last quick wave, and then went back into his empty compartment.

While he waited for more people to arrive, he pulled the most recent letter Holly had sent him from his pant pocket and unfolded it for the twentieth time. Her words were affectionate, witty, perfectly her. And her script was neat and lovely. He read over the familiar words with a familiar warmth blossoming in his stomach. He couldn't wait to see her again. Sooner or later he had to get up the courage to kiss the girl.

He had no idea what this year at Hogwarts would look like, and he hadn't felt that way since his first year when he had been eleven years old.

What were they all in for?

He twirled his wand in his fingers and folded Holly's letter with his other hand. He looked out the window at all the families and students. It seemed like the first-years were tinier than they had ever been. He didn't think he had been as small as that when he first started school. _They_ certainly weren't ready for this year. Children shouldn't be beginning their magical education here right now. What would they think of Hogwarts?

Some mothers seemed to be thinking the same things. They hugged their sons and daughters and looked fearfully at the large, steaming train that was going to lug them off to danger. They were either brave or foolish to allow those children out of their arms when the train began to whistle.

A Slytherin girl a year below him opened his compartment door and when she saw it was empty except for him, she asked, "D'you mind?"

He shook his head. "No, go ahead."

The fifth-year led in a tiny girl who looked like her sister. The elder was fairly attractive and had darker hair that had a red shine in the light. The younger was strawberry blonde. Besides that difference, the younger was a copy of the older girl. She struggled with her trunk so her older sister took hold of it and swung it up above onto the racks. The tiny girl stared at Rigel with large eyes.

The fifth-year sat a couple seats down from Rigel and her sister sat next to her.

"And the other House is Hufflepuff, right?" she asked in a voice as tiny as she was. "Is that a good House? Gregory said—"

"You nevermind what Greg said, he's an arse."

"But what if it puts me—"

"It'll put you wherever it wants and you've got to like it."

"But I want to go in your House."

"Why? I hate most of the people in my House."

"What if I get put in Gryffindor and our Houses fight each other and—?"

"Quiet, Cath."

The little girl was quiet only for about half a minute, then:

"What if the hat looks inside me and says I'm not right to be a witch after all? And I have to leave in front of everybody?"

"I don't think that's gonna happen."

"What if the Death Eaters come back to the school?"

"They probably will."

"What will _happen_?"

"I don't _know_, Cathy, bloody hell."

The compartment door opened and another Slytherin girl saw the fifth-year and came in.

"Hey, bitch."

The fifth-year grinned. "Cunt." Her friend shoved her trunk up on the rack and dropped down across from her. She had given Rigel a cursory glance and then proceeded to ignored him like the other two.

"Daddy said not to say things like that," Cathy piped up.

"Your daddy's the biggest cunt there is, sugar," the fifth-year said matter-of-factly. Cathy didn't argue.

"This year's gonna be a fecking mess," the fifth-year's friend sighed.

The fifth-year nodded. The train had whistled its last departing whistle and now began to move slowly forward.

"Your skirt seems a little short," the fifth-year said to her friend, smirking. Her friend returned the smirk.

"I hemmed it, of course. The school uniforms are not quite flattering enough."

"What's 'hemmed'?" Cathy asked, peering at her sister's friend's skirt.

"Nothing you need to know about," the fifth-year replied. Cathy frowned.

Just then, the door was shoved aside and Scott was looking in.

"Sorry—" he began, and was about to close it again before he spotted Rigel. "Ri! Merlin, _there_ you are! Brax and I wondered, but I should have guessed—here you are, busy surrounding yourself with a group of gorgeous women." He smiled his best smile at the three girls and tiny Cathy blushed scarlet.

Abraxas came in after him, and pulled both his and Scott's trunks up onto the racks as Scott shook hands with the girls, displaying the easy self-confidence Rigel and Abraxas envied.

"Ivy," the fifth-year's friend introduced herself as with a devious gaze at Scott. She was wearing a lot of eye makeup. Rigel thought to himself that her name did her justice—she was a slim, pretty thing with long legs who would probably wrap herself around something, hold it close, and at the same time be killing it softly. Maybe it was just because of his suspicion of Slytherins that made him think so.

He didn't get the same vibe from the fifth-year who had introduced herself as Marlena. She seemed like she had more heart.

"Cathleen," Cathy managed to squeak out, still blushing. Scott gave her a friendly wink.

"It's nice to meet you, Cathleen. This over here is my mate Brax" —he jerked his thumb toward Abraxas— "and that dashing young man who probably hasn't introduced himself to you yet is—"

"—Rigel. I can introduce myself, Scott." He stood up from his window seat and took the one next to little Cathy.

"So this your first year, Cathleen?" he asked her.

"Yes."

"No reason to be nervous. All the Houses are good ones and you'll make friends. Sometimes it's good not to be in the House your sibling's in, too. That way you don't have their eyes on you all the time." He grinned and looked at Marlena. She rolled her eyes. Cathy smiled tentatively.

Abraxas sat across from Rigel.

"What's new?" he asked him. His tone and expression conveyed he was not merely asking about his summer vacation or if he got any new books.

"Snape's Headmaster," Rigel told him without pretense. "Harry Potter's not coming back for his seventh year. Two Death Eaters are going to be here as professors now for Muggle Studies and Dark Arts, only my mother reckons Muggle Studies is going to involve being taught that Muggles are inferior filth and he Dark Arts will literally _be_ the Dark Arts—not the defense of it."

"Holy shite," Scott breathed.

"How do you know all that?" Ivy asked.

"Ins in the Ministry," Rigel lied. Her turned to Cathy and said gently, "You're in for a rough first year." A worry crinkle between her brows appeared as they pulled together.

"You fought at the end of last year, didn't you?" Marlena asked, her dark eyes on Rigel.

When Rigel hesitated, Brax answered her. "When we woke up and heard it all, all three of us got up and helped fight."

"Brax took down two Death Eaters with nonverbal Body-Bind curses," Scott bragged for him. He was constantly talking Abraxas up to girls. Marlena's eyes were appreciative.

"Seems like you lost," Ivy commented mildly. "Dumbledore was killed and according to you two Death Eaters get to just sit in the castle doing whatever they like."

"Yes, we lost," Brax replied honestly. "But we'll keep fighting till the last man, because a wizarding world under You Know Who is unacceptable."

Rigel smiled. He'd missed Brax and wished he could let him into Order stuff, but the Order was so tight on security he had to keep him excluded from things. Marlena was seeing Brax more fully now, and after that her eyes rested on Brax more often than on Rigel.

Her sister meanwhile became as attached to Rigel as a kitten. She reminded him of his cousin Connie, though perhaps she was even more endearing. Scott obviously intimidated the heck out of Cathy and Brax was too quiet for her taste. She felt far more comfortable with Rigel.

Rigel was in the middle of telling Connie about all the different professors and chewing a Pumpkin Pasty when the door slid open and Holly looked inside. Her face brightened when she spotted Rigel. He immediately stood mid-sentence and went out into the corridor with her. She had barely shut the door before he hugged her tight. He couldn't really think of anything to say. She couldn't seem to, either.

"How are you?" he finally asked.

"Worried," she replied softly.

"Me too. How's your family?"

"Fine. They'll be fine, most are from at least some magical blood. It's the Muggle-borns…"

"I know."

"My mum says she's seen some already losing jobs. It's awful. How's your mother?"

"She says she's probably going to lose her job and she's looking for another one. But the apartment is as protected as it possibly can be—as is my uncle and aunt's house. She's even walking around with some protective charms on herself a friend showed her." He shrugged. "Everyone's hunkered down for war."

"When d'you think it's going to come?"

"I'd rather sooner than later because every day Muggles and Muggle-borns are being harassed and hurt. But my mum says it won't be soon because people aren't ready. They're not hurt or scared enough. She says people only start rebelling when they feel the problems personally."

Holly nodded—she agreed.

"You mustn't cause too much trouble, Ri," she murmured. "They'll hurt you, too, you know."

"Yeah, they will. If it's just me. Remember fourth year? When it was just a couple people Umbridge could dominate them, but when everyone started rebelling, she was powerless. I'm not Fred and George, but I'm hoping some of us can stir up collective power like that. There are more good people than bad in the school, so the good people shouldn't have to suffer the laws of the bad."

"You sound like Rousseau."

"Ha! My mum says the same. How do you know Muggle Enlightenment work?"

"Everyone should know philosophy."

"Most witches and wizards don't know shite about Muggle writings. And to think—this year Muggle Studies is going to be taught by a Death Eater."

"You're not _serious_?"

"As the grave."

"_Death Eaters_ are teaching! Fucking Merlin! If my mother hears—!"

Rigel grimaced. "It might be better for you if you left. And better on my peace of mind."

"I want to fight Eaters just as much as you do, Rigel. They killed my dad too."

"I know." He took her hand and smiled a little. "I missed you, Holly."

She smiled back and was about to say something before Scott shoved open the compartment door beside them.

"Oi!" He smirked, seeing them. "I thought you wouldn't have gone far. You best get yer arse back in here before Cathy eats up all your licorice wands."

"Alright, alright."

"Hello, Scott," Holly greeted him.

"Hello, Miss Holly."

Rigel brought Holly into the compartment and when after she'd sat down there was only one remaining open seat. The compartment was pretty full and she gazed around at the new and unexpected girls.

"Marlena, Ivy, Cath, this is Holly. Holly, this is Cathleen, Ivy, and Marlena," Rigel introduced, gesturing at them all. The girls nodded at her and she nodded back, still looking a bit surprised.

When Scott sat back down Ivy picked up her long, slender legs and placed them up across his lap. Though Abraxas stared, Scott's expression didn't even change as he put an arm across them. Rigel had to admire his composure.

Cathy on Rigel's other side was gazing at him with large, anxious doe eyes.

"It's not true, I wasn't going to eat all of them," she insisted.

"I know," Rigel replied gently. "Licorice isn't my favorite anyways—you can have them all if you save the rest of the Cauldron Cakes for me."

"Deal," she said and smiled winningly.

Holly clammed up as was her wont among people who weren't her close friends. She'd been so much herself with him for such a while now that Rigel had practically forgotten how shy she generally was. He knew not to worry about it, though he often dropped from the main conversation to speak privately with her to remind her she wasn't forgotten. They shared a pack of Every Flavor Beans and tried all the ones they dared each other to. Holly had a good eye for the baddies much to Rigel's misfortune. Cathy giggled each time he gagged, and each time he gave her a reproachful look for it that made her giggle harder.

Marlena had an elegant gray cat for a pet that she let out of its carry case after a while. The cat only harassed Sir Gawain a little at first and then ignored him and twined itself around Marlena, Ivy, and Cathy's legs. Eventually she even settled in Brax's lap much to Marlena's surprise and the two of them huddled together, talking. Scott often looked toward them with evident satisfaction. Ivy continued her flirtatious attentions to him and her shallowness synched up perfectly to his. Neither put real feeling into it. It made Rigel wonder if Scott would ever be able to really connect with a girl.

It was almost a disappointment when the train rolled into Hogwarts Station, they had all been enjoying themselves so much. The Slytherin girls were a tough-skinned lot and Marlena and her sister's speech was more slang-imbibed than Rigel was used to, hinting at a certain sort of upbringing. Ivy was an odd mix; her words were crass but her voice velvety smooth, and she and Marlena seemed very close. It made Rigel wonder how the two different girls had ever become friends, but then he thought about himself and Scott.

Little Cathleen's anxiety hit her again as the train rolled to a stop. Before she could make a frightened peep, Rigel told her, "Now you're going to get to go with the rest of the first-years across the lake to the castle. Then all you have to do is put on an old hat and sit down at a table. You'll be fine, Cat."

She gazed up at him with shiny eyes. "My mum calls me Cat."

"Mother's a useless drunk, Cathy," Marlena cut in with some sharpness. "You know I don't want you to even talk about her."

Cathy nodded dolefully and took her wand from Ivy who had gotten it from her trunk for her.

"Always have this on you, love," Ivy told her.

Scott was already in the corridor, half-blocking the way to save space for them to file out. The three girls disappeared into the swimming crowd, but before they did, Ivy blew a kiss at Scott and Marlena raised her hand in parting, looking at Abraxas.

Scott punched Brax lightly on the shoulder, grinning, as they followed the older crowd toward the carriages. "Look at _you_," Scott crowed. "She was into you, mate!"

Brax had the modesty to blush a little. "She's not like I thought Slytherin girls are. I think she's basically been raising Cathleen all by herself." His expression was admiring—and proud. He was proud of her already. Rigel could tell from that that there was officially a crush germinating in him.

"I like that," Scott said. "Too many stuck up rich girls here."

"Like that Ivy?" Brax said, smirking at him.

"Nah, mate, I can definitely tell the difference. Ivy can't be much more well-off than them—I would betcha they grew up in the same neighborhood together or something like that."

Rigel was holding Holly's hand as they walked but had to drop it to get into the carriage. The four of them climbed in together and the carriage began jostling them on their way up to the castle.


	33. CHAPTER 33: TOOTH AND CLAW

**CHAPTER 33: TOOTH AND CLAW  
><strong>

…

"_In a coat of gold or a coat of red,_  
><em>A lion still has claws<em>  
><em>And mine are long and sharp, my lord,<em>  
><em>As long and sharp as yours<em>"  
>-The Rains of Castamere, <span>A Storm of Swords<span>, George R. R. Martin

…

**R**igel couldn't look at him, couldn't even think about him sitting there without his insides beginning to boil and his dinner feeling like a pile of stones in his stomach.

_Fucking bastard! You betrayed my mother and I and the entire Order and the one old man who believed there was good in you. You fooled my father into thinking you were worth his friendship. I hate you! I hate you! _

Rigel was unused to having an object of his loathing sitting placidly in his sight and being unable to fight it. He knew he would have to learn to control his hatred, like his father had controlled his. And he could look past almost everything the man had done and force himself to gain control—except for the fact that this villain had hurt his mother. That was unacceptable. That was unforgettable. And that was what was making his face an ugly grimace at the Ravenclaw feast. He didn't even notice when Cathleen got sorted into Hufflepuff.

"Poor thing," Scott muttered sympathetically.

"Aw, Hufflepuff gets too much flack," Brax replied. "It's an okay House. Especially considering it's welcoming, unlike some of the other ones. She'll meet good, safe people there."

"Who likes it safe?" Scott snorted.

It was Holly's calming hand on Rigel's that pulled him out of it.

"Rigel," she said, "stop pressing a hole into the table with your fork handle. You've got to control yourself in all this or—"

"I know. I know."

He had to keep a cool head or he'd make an idiot of himself. He had to be cold, like them, and not show any weaknesses.

"I know it's hard," she murmured.

"Fuck, he's _so_…"

"I know."

Rigel steeled himself with a breath. His father would have been untouchable and unreadable. He would have been what he needed to be. Rigel took one more breath and then looked up at the staff table.

There were three distinct sections. The staff to the left of Snape and the Carrows, Snape and the Carrows, and the staff to the right of Snape and the Carrows. The right and left did not speak to the middle. It heartened Rigel to see the lines of anger on the faces of the staff he knew and liked.

Rigel gave Snape—who was sitting his pale, lanky, thrice-cursed ass in Professor Dumbledore's old throne of a chair—a long stare. He tried to think about him in every way. He was a black hole of evil. He was a scrawny human with thin blue veins who could die like anyone else. He was a sharp and skilled wizard. He was a close acquaintance. That was a troubling thought: how well Snape knew him. Maybe that's why he had spent so much time familiarizing himself—so he could be that much more bitter of an enemy.

The Severus Snape Rigel had known had died in his mind. It was like that man sitting up there had murdered him too. It was yet another evil he was responsible for.

At that moment, as if his thoughts had had the power to rankle the man's mind, Snape looked away from Amycus and right at Rigel across the enormous Hall.

Rigel stared back. His face was cold and devoid. In his eyes was only a pinprick of the concentrated malice he felt. Snape's eyes seemed to sink backwards into his skull a little. And that…made Rigel Black smile.

A small, cold, knowing smile. Snape moved his gaze away. Rigel smiled more until it turned into a grimacing bearing of his white teeth, and then he looked down at his food again.

Severus Snape was a snake.

And lions tore snakes apart with tooth and claw.

…

Sleep would not come that night, though he was warm and well-fed in his bed in the Ravenclaw boy's dormitory. He pushed the covers aside and pulled on his shoes. In his pajamas, he crossed the dark and empty common room and pushed open the heavy door. Down the spiral staircase he went, and crept down back hallways to avoid accidentally happening upon Filch.

He went to his mom and dad's old meeting place behind the clock tower, sat down on the bench with his back against the side of it, and traced the R&L that was carved carefully into the stone as he had many nights before. He retraced all the echoes of his father he could find, and often.

He stared out into the night through the great glass clock face at the many stars that could be seen from the castle's remote location. He found familiar constellations and made up some others. He didn't think he was going to sleep much at all tonight. He didn't feel tired. Well, no, that was untrue. He already felt tired with what he knew this year was going to be. Tired of the waiting and the stupid game. Tired of having worry in his mind all the time.

It was cold beside the glass and stone, and Rigel shivered, wishing he'd brought along a sweater.

He worried about his mother. He worried about her losing her job, her worrying over him, her getting hurt in this war, and most of all he worried about the loneliness that he knew lived inside of her and ached for a respite that had not come in sixteen years. His mother had surrendered her youth and life for him, and now that he was old enough to recognize that, the understanding caused him pain. She deserved the best the world had to offer and instead lived alone in fear and uncertainty.

He had wanted, so badly, for Severus to be the one to finally lighten her burden with his support and affection. That night last Christmas he had felt the palpable attraction between them; he had seen the yearning and tenderness in Severus' eyes. How had Severus played his part so well? Well enough that he had wanted him for a father? Rigel ground his teeth. He would have been so willing to let the man into his heart—and had already for the most part. It had seemed so right. But he had learned now never again to trust so easily. He'd been cruelly betrayed and it had been an important lesson.

Shivering, Rigel touched his father's etching one last time before he trudged the familiar way back. As he was passing a hall, the Fat Friar, hovering absently along, said "It's time you were abed, you know."

"On my way, sir."

He climbed the spiral staircase, beginning to finally feel the desire for sleep. He stopped in front of the door at the top with its bronze eagle knocker.

"At night they come without being fetched and by day they are lost without being stolen," the knocker said. "What are they?"

Rigel paused a moment. He loved when the door gave him good riddles.

"Stars," he answered quietly.

The door swung open silently and he went up to bed.

…

"We're learning to Apparate this year." Brax put his schedule down and complained, "Every since fifth year, there's been some big test at the end we've had to prepare for. Apparating freaks me out. It's really dangerous—my uncle once got into such a big fight with my aunt that when he Apparated to get away from her, he left his legs just above his knees. It was awful, with blood all over my aunt's carpet. And a _head_ can't just be put back on, you know. You die."

Scott was shoving biscuits in his mouth and only grunted in reply.

"You don't have to take the test for years if you don't want to," Rigel said. "But the best place to practice will be this year where there are Healers on had all the time." He hadn't divulged the fact that he could Apparate already to either of his friends or Holly. It was just something he didn't want getting out.

He looked over and saw little Cathleen with a couple new friends smiling and waving at him from her table, and he waved back, grinning. She squirmed with delight.

"Looks like our gallant Headmaster isn't joining us all for breakfast this morning," Scott commented after swallowing. Rigel nodded; he too had noticed the chair was empty.

"Bet he won't be showing his face anywhere very often," Brax predicted. "You saw the staff's expressions last night. If I were him, I'd play it safe, too. Everyone hates him but the Carrows."

"And by the looks of them," Scott growled, "they're too thick to know their arse from their face."

"You have to admit that _is_ difficult with faces like theirs," Rigel muttered. The boys snorted. "Do we have either of them soon?" he asked Brax.

"No, none of us are taking Muggle Studies and Defense for us doesn't start until Thursday."

"I think Holly takes Muggle Studies," Rigel said, half to himself. "That might not be good."

"She's not really the trouble-making type, though, is she?" Scott asked, looking doubtful of her propensity to cause problems.

Rigel frowned. "Not in our old classes, of course not. But now… I mean, she doesn't look like much but her opinions are passionate."

"Where is she?"

"Dunno. Maybe early class."

"So what are you two, anyways?" Brax asked him. "Are you guys, like, together? I haven't seen you kiss or anything."

Rigel shrugged. "I think we're together. But no, we haven't kissed or anything yet."

"Get on that shite!" Scott exclaimed. "Don't be a nancy!"

"I will, shuttup," Rigel replied, shoving him a little. "Now we have to get to Charms, c'mon." He grabbed a pastry to go.


	34. CHAPTER 34: HEADMASTER SNAPE

**Chapter 34: Headmaster Snape**

…

"Despised substance of divinest show, just opposite to what thou justly seemst – A damned saint! An honorable villain!"

-William Shakespeare, _Romeo and Juliet_

…

**A**braxas' prediction of Snape's behavior turned out to be more correct that Rigel had supposed. Odd that he would chose to be an absentee headmaster instead of enjoying his power to torment the people he'd had to pretend to care about for so long. Perhaps he was more of a coward than he had thought.

He'd only seen the man once in the few months he'd been at school; he'd looked to be having a discussion with one of the Carrows out beside one of the school's walls. Rigel had been coming back across the grounds from a solo outing on his broomstick and he passed within about twenty yards of them.

Amycus had been speaking but Snape had looked away from him to watch Rigel pass. Rigel had met his look with an unperturbed expression and then looked ahead again as he went into the covered walk.

Now he was on his way to meet with him on much more intimate terms.

Amycus Carrow had segued his Dark Arts class a week ago from merely learning about the curses, spells, and hexes in the books he had provided, to practicing them. On each other. The curses had been minor ones at first, but Amycus had mentioned that they would soon be practicing on trouble makers and first years as if he were hinting at a treat.

Today they had jumped up a level of curse. Rigel had refused to curse Brax into feeling like his skin was on fire, and had some choice words for what he thought of Amycus' teaching methods. The Hufflepuffs they'd been sharing class with were far too petrified of the ugly, cruel Death Eater to make a peep in protest, and when other Ravenclaws had made noises of support for Rigel, Amycus had declared Rigel was to be made an example of and had sent him to the Headmaster.

He didn't know what was in the note from Amycus Carrow that he held in his hand. Strikingly, he didn't care too much about it. He had realized in that classroom that he had been the only student there who wasn't afraid of the Death Eater who called himself their professor. And though he knew she should have been, he wasn't very afraid of Snape, either.

He climbed to the third floor and walked until he found the stone gargoyle. He'd known this office existed but he'd never seen it before. He knocked on the stone gargoyle's nose. To his great surprise, the beast shook its head in distaste.

"Sorry," Rigel muttered. "Where should I knock?"

But the gargoyle was inert again.

He knocked on one of its great feathered stone wings. It liked that no less, but Rigel continued to pound on it while it ruffled itself, offended at this broach of its dignity.

At some sort of unseen command, it suddenly stepped aside to reveal Headmaster Snape.

The man was wearing a sneering grimace which turned into blank look of surprise when he beheld the student who had been pounding stupidly on the stone creature.

When he said nothing, Rigel told him in a cold voice, "Evening, Headmaster. This is for you from the man in the dungeons who presumes to call himself a professor. No doubt it is a request that I be met with some sort of hideous corporal punishment." He held out the letter.

Snape took it.

"The gargoyle responds to a password, not to being struck," he commented mildly.

Rigel had expected a retributive outburst for his insolence and was surprised.

"I was not privy to the knowledge," he replied in a similar mild way.

"I am not surprised the man in the dungeons who presumes to call himself a professor forgot to let you in on it."

"I doubt he remembers it himself."

"Give me your wand." The command was cold, but Rigel had seen the lightness of amusement in Snape's eyes. It confused him, but he kept control of his expression. He took his wand out and handed it to the man he hated beyond all others at that moment. The man turned and led him into his office.

Rigel couldn't help looking around. The place was impressive. It was a large, circular room with walls lined in portraits of headmasters and headmistresses, the largest of which was a portrait of a smiling Dumbledore hanging directly behind the headmaster's desk. The room also housed a great number of books and contained some spindly tables upon which sat some silver instruments and some materials Rigel recognized from Snape's old office.

His eyes were drawn again to the portrait of Dumbledore and the old man in the painting said gently, "Hello, Rigel."

Rigel gave him an affectionate salute, but turned away before continued interaction with the memory of this dead father figure could bring embarrassing tears to his eyes. He eyed Snape and Snape eyed him. Then he opened up the letter and gave it a quick read.

When he was done he looked calmly at Rigel and said, "Let me ask you something, Mr. Black." The name seemed far, far less of an endearment now. "If I were to extinguish the insolent life from your shiny, sixteen year-old eyes, how long for this world do you think your darling mother would be?"

Of course he would go right for the jugular.

Rigel kept his breath even, his eyes unreadable and was delighted in how easy it came to him when he was in the moment.

"Let me ask you something, you revolting piece of thrice-cursed dog shite," he returned with, speaking evenly and clearly, "do you really think she and I are both not completely willing to forfeit our lives for the cause my father died for?"

Snape smiled crookedly at him. "She might be willing to give up hers—but _yours_? No, we both know that's not true, Mr. Black. Your mother would roll over like a trained dog to save your life. She'd polish my shoes with her own tongue and spit. And though _I'd_ enjoy it, I have a feeling you'd like to be spared that particular mortification."

It was harder, but he kept control. He smiled just a little. "Unfortunately for you, your arguments carry no weight with me, sir."

"You care so little for your poor mother?" his sarcasm was thick and scathing.

"You know her so little?"

That seemed to strike some sort of cord. Rigel hadn't a notion why. But Snape was silent.

"You've proven a proficient murderer, Headmaster," said Rigel. "Go on ahead and make a martyr out of me or my mother. Speed the world on its way to destroying that thing you call your master. Torture me, threaten me, but don't you _dare_ entertain the notion that you have any kind of leverage over me."

Snape stared at this boy, his adept and forceful speech still ringing in his ears. His words were controlled and pointed like a spear, his face and eyes devoid of any telling emotion other than strength and sincerity. He reminded Severus so forcibly of Regulus that he was all but staggered. His heart swelled with pride until he thought he might choke on it, but allowed none of what he was truly feeling or thinking to show itself. Betraying every instinct inside of him other than the need to maintain control and his new façade, Severus nonverbally cursed Rigel Black with the curse he had refused to use on another student.

Held immobile, Rigel shouted out in pain as he felt as if the skin on his arms had burst suddenly into flame. Severus left him in that for about five seconds. When he let up Rigel staggered backward, tears of pain in his eyes. He brushed them away roughly and glared with seething fury at his headmaster.

"You remind me of your father, Rigel," Snape drawled. "Especially just then. He too thought himself invincible because he was willing to sacrifice himself. But I'd like to remind you that the stupid man ended up feeding worms and gaining nothing. No glory, no furthering of his cause. Just pain and death. Don't delude yourself into thinking you have any sort of power. Your well-being is all you have, boy. And the next time you rebel, you may not have much of that left when we're done with you. Now get out."


	35. CHAPTER 35: UNDER SIEGE

**CHAPTER 35: UNDER SIEGE  
><strong>

…

"The strength of a family, like the strength of an army, is in its loyalty to each other.  
>-Mario Puzo<p>

…

**B**y midwinter, the seventh-year Gyrffindor boy's dormitory was empty.

Harry and Ron had never been at school, Dean was in hiding, and Neville and Seamus had disappeared into the Room of Requirement. Rigel was no longer attending his Dart Arts classes and was now, outside of his legitimate classes and his dorm, almost always wearing an invisibility charm that he had taught himself. It made life a little trippy, but allowed him to lead the most normal castle life possible.

By the first hint of spring, things were beyond ugly. The heartening graffiti that Dumbledore's Army used to put on the Hogwarts walls at night had stopped because of an ugly crackdown by the Carrows. Before he disappeared into the Room of Requirement, Neville Longbottom, the seemingly unofficial leader of the rebellion in Harry's absence, had walked around the school with a hideous collection of torture marks, and Seamus and Michael Corner took their share of abuse for the rebellions they got caught in as well. Slytherins and the Carrows tortured trouble-makers—of which there was more every day—in the dungeons. Almost all of Gryffindor and some of Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were boycotting the Carrows' classes and under a sort of siege.

Students had complained in distress in owls to their parents, who had complained to the Ministry, who did nothing, of course. Things kept getting worse and parents were finally beginning to get an understanding of what was really happening. Few were allowed to leave the castle or come in; all entrances and exits were heavily guarded and cursed. Rigel's mother had lost her job two months ago and hadn't even considered going out and getting a new one under the circumstances. She was currently simply hiding.

It was an enormous simmering pot that was just short of boiling over.

The boiling point happened to come earlier for Rigel than some due to his girlfriend.

Ceridwen had run into the Ravenclaw Tower common room, led there by a very pale Abraxas who she'd spotted canoodling with Marlena Holmes in a second floor nook and had begged the assistance of.

"Rigel! Holly and I were going to meet for dinner and I can't find her anywhere. What if—"

The common room had hushed and so it was particularly noisy when Rigel scrambled away from his homework at "can't find" and tore to his dorm room. Ceridwen ran to follow. When she came in he was fiddling with a golden coin.

"What are you doing?"

"Shh!"

Hermione had taught the Army how to charm different messages into their connected golden coins. The messages appeared on every other coin; it also got hot so the person who had it could feel there was a new message.

He quivered with passionate emotions, namely fear, after putting in the message _Holly where are you_. His coin grew hot in his hand and he set it on the bed, gazing at it, internally begging her to send a message in reply.

"Rigel…?"

He squeezed his eyes shut. "If she doesn't respond to this, I'm—I'm going to get a big group together to scour the place for her and we'll tear down the Headmaster's office if we have to. If he's fucking done something to her, by fucking Merlin, I'll—"

A new message appeared.

_Hiding. McGonagall's office. _

Rigel's explosive breath of relief sounded like a sob.

"She's okay—" he cried to Ceridwen as he tore out of the dormitory and the common room. He could barely catch his breath as he hurtled himself into McGonagall's classroom and ran up to her adjoining office. The door was locked.

"Professor—" he managed to wheeze, "it's Rigel Albeney—"

"Quiet yourself," the stern woman replied, opening the door. Rigel slipped breathlessly past her and had eyes only for the delicate blonde girl in a chair at the end of the small room with her knees tucked up to her chin. He gathered her forcefully up into his arms and sat in the chair she had been occupying, with her held very tightly in his lap.

"Bloody hell, you scared the piss out of me!" he exclaimed. "What happened?!"

"If you don't keep your voice down, Mr. Black—" McGonagall hissed.

"_What happened_?" he breathed to Holly again, more quietly.

"I had enough of Alecto Carrow's Muggle Studies class today," she said.

"Did she hurt you?"

"No. I said what I wanted, shielded myself, and got out. She's an oaf at spells. I probably could have killed her. I wanted to, but that would have made things difficult for everyone."

"We'll hide you in the Room of Requirement—"

She shook her head. "No, you don't have to do that."

"That's the only safe place! Professor, tell her—"

"Rigel," Holly said; her gentle voice shut him up better than anyone else's could have. "An owl also arrived from my mother today. My sister's friend's sibling told them about how it is here, my family heard, and they're all coming to get me."

"Snape's not letting students out, Holly. The parents that have tried have gotten threatened—"

"You don't understand," she told him patiently. "They're _all_ coming."

"Who?"

"My family."

"So?"

"They're a formidable bunch, Ri."

"But…"

"Miss Pollux will be quitting the school shortly," McGonagall said firmly to Rigel. "Trust me, Black. I know her mother."

Rigel's stricken expression caused Holly to put a soft hand to his face.

"Where will you go? Austria…?" he asked.

"Maybe. But they'll probably keep me at home."

"What about—when everything happens—"

"I still have this, don't I?" she held up the coin. "I don't plan on missing it for anything. Somebody's got to have your stupid back."

Rigel laughed shakily and hugged her to him.

"I don't want you to leave," he sighed. "I want you to be safe, but I wish that could be where I am."

Her arms were around his neck and she nuzzled into him sweetly.

"I'll be back soon, Ri," she whispered. "The tension in this place is bound to explode soon. Then I'll be back and we'll fight together and help Harry win."

"_Holly_…"

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat. "Come on, you two," she said gruffly. "Holly's mother is going to be here very soon and we should meet her in the front hall so she doesn't have to blast her way through the castle."

Holly obediently untangled herself from her very unwilling boyfriend. He felt the prick of welling tears—but then Professor McGonagall rapped his cheek gently a few times with her bony fingers and commanded "Buck up."

He did so, and Professor McGonagall made all three of them invisible, and walked with them to the front hall of the castle. They only had four minutes to wait. A rumble shook the floor and thumps of castle guards hitting the walls outside was unmistakable. Spells crackled. Headmaster Snape came running down the marble staircase, his black cloak flying behind him. Before he reached them, the great front doors blew open.

They revealed a grimacing, motley crew of rain-soaked relatives.

Rigel stared and had the giddy impulse to laugh.

There were a collection of tall men, as old as a grandfather and as young as around twenty, and most of them blond, and a sizeable number of women—aunts, sisters, in-laws, daughters. One young woman was unmistakably Holly's older sister Christina. She was beautiful—and terrifying at the moment. All wands were out. And at the head of them stood a woman who looked only about five years older than Rigel's mom. Her once-blonde hair was turning white, but her flinty eyes and rather muscular figure were utterly formidable.

"_Severus Snape_," she called out in a threatening manner. "_Where. Is. My Daughter_?"

"I don't have the pleasure of understanding who you mean, madam," Snape replied in a cold voice.

"Holly Pollux. Ravenclaw. You are going to _do_ something for me, Severus Snape. And you're going to do it as quickly as those long, ugly legs can carry you. You're going to find my daughter, deliver her to my family and I here, and then you're going to watch us depart. And God willing, a bit later down the line, you're going to die a horrific death. Do you think you can do those things for me, Severus Snape?"

Snape's expression was murderous, but he had the sense not to argue. He could have called the Death Eaters and even the Dark Lord himself to the castle with a touch to his inner arm, but it would have been pointless to do so over one harmless student leaving.

"It does happen to be in my power to arrange a few of them," he replied mildly. "I certainly wouldn't deny a concerned mother her child."

The woman spat noisily on the floor to show what she thought of that blatant lie.

Snape continued, "I shall send someone off to find her."

"No need, Headmaster," Holly said at the same moment that McGonagall lifted the spell from her. Snape's eyes narrowed to slits as Holly strode calmly past him and to her mother.

"What was your father's Patronus?" her mother growled at her, keeping her eyes and wand on Snape.

"It's my Patronus now, too," Holly murmured. "And it's an eagle."

Her mother's eyes welled with emotion and the entire party began to back out of the front hall and into the rain. They crossed the grounds in an odd, circled formation with eyes on every side and Holly walking in the center. The great doors closed on them.

Snape's hands were balled into fists. He spun around with a cutting swish of his black cloak and stalked back up the marble staircase, shoulders hunched.

"I think you best stay in the Room of Requirement from now on, too, Mr. Black," McGonagall commented quietly.

"Yes, Professor."


	36. CHAPTER 36: HIDING

**CHAPTER 36: HIDING  
><strong>

…

"Nothing is more necessary or stronger in us than rebellion."  
>― Georges Bataille, <em>The Unfinished System of Nonknowledge<em>

…

**H**e should have gone sooner.

Staying in the Room of Requirement with most of the other Order members was a fantastic combination of camping with your best friends and owning your own library. Multicolored hammocks were strung from the ceiling and from a balcony that ran around the dark wood-paneled and windowless walls, which were covered in bright tapestry hangings displaying the crests of three of Hogwart's four Houses. There were bulging bookcases and a large, wooden-cased wireless in the corner. It contained two bathrooms, a boy's and a girl's and as long as one person always stayed in the Room, no one could get at them.

The most extraordinary part of the Room was the passageway Neville had discovered into the Hog's Head bar, luckily one owned by Dumbledore's brother—a huge surprise to Rigel, who had stupidly not considered the possibility that the extraordinary man had had relatives—and Abberforth supplied them with food which they could then multiply and feed everyone with.

Rigel, who had never become close to many of Harry's friends besides Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Luna, soon found himself becoming close with Seamus Finnegan, Michael Corner, Lavender Brown, the Patil twins, Terry Boot, Ernie Macmillian, and Anthony Goldstein. After a discussion with Neville and Seamus, Rigel brought Abraxas and Scott in as well; Brax had packed Rigel's tiny magical box with the contents of all three of their trunks, which supplied the room with a number of games, chess boards, and new clothes which could be enlarged, multiplied, and distributed.

It was odd, right before he knew the pot of the wizarding world was about to reaching boiling point, that he was having pretty much the time of his life. He could regulate his own studies and he loved meeting new people—the seventh-year boys and girls were all interested in him and quite friendly. The only thing missing for him was Holly. And for Brax, it was Marlena.

"I wish they didn't have such a problem with trusting a Slytherin," he sighed as he and Rigel lay next to each other on their hammocks, reading. As he was talking, one of the Patil twins came out of the bathroom after a shower with her hair wet and her clothes sticking to her and Rigel ogled her surreptitiously.

"Well, you don't know her that terribly well yet, and you can't blame them for not trusting Slytherins. Crabbe and Goyle and Malfoy help the Carrows use the Cruciatus on people who've earned detentions—and they love it."

"Exactly! Lena wants to get Cathy away from those people. And Lena said Slytherins have a bad rep because their House puts emphasis on blood magic, and so most of the people in there go in with the ideas that it makes you better because that's how they were raised, and it's only encouraged. The House also puts an emphasis on cunning and sort of being out for only yourself, so a lot of people aren't terribly friendly."

"You're makin' a good case against yourself, mate."

"No, I'm not—what I mean is, some of them aren't _evil_, just selfish sometimes. Marlena can be mean if she needs to be, too. It's how she's survived growing up. But she has a good heart, she cares, and most of the people in her House disgust her."

"I don't think she's not a good person, Brax. I just think trust is something that's earned in time. Give it until after the war's over to start tellin' her D.A. secrets."

"I won't tell her anything, I'm just saying I think we shouldn't discriminate against Slytherins just because they're Slytherins."

"I agree."

"So do you really think the war's going to end soon? I feel like it could take years more."

"Merlin, I hope not."

"I mean, Potter's off who-knows-where and You-Know-Who's not even publically in the open."

"But his Death Eaters and his policies are. People can put two and two together."

"What if the school's like this again next year?"

"No one would come. It won't be. It can't be. We can't allow it."

Brax looked unconvinced. "What if no one can do anything about it? You-Know-Who's getting stronger every day."

"For all we know, Harry might be too."

"I don't think we should put all our trust in Harry. He's only a guy a year older than us. You said that yourself."

"I know. And he might turn out to be just a guy a year older than us. But all of us can fight and will fight, and we'll have a chance, especially when normal people start realizing what's going on, getting off their asses, and joining us."

"Gotta admit I'm worried."

"Me too, mate."

Brax picked up a scone from the plate on the stool between their hammocks and nibbled at it. Rigel looked back at his book but even though he was looking at the text, his mind wasn't on it. He was wondering about Harry, and he was wondering if his mother and the rest of his family were alright.

…

"Sorry I missed dinner, Grace," Lenna said, coming down the basement stairs of Cal and Grace's home. Behind her, Walter ran past towards the kitchen with a toy broomstick between his legs, pretending he was flying and making "rooooom, zvrrrooom!" noises. "My friend Rebecca asked me to help her put protective spells and charms up on her and her parents' houses earlier and she's Muggle-born, so I just didn't want to delay…" The basement was dark but for red light. Grace was currently using it to develop photographs in the magical solution that would charm them to move.

"It's alright. Walter's been a complete hassle tonight, anyway, so it hasn't been exactly pleasant here."

"He's getting big."

"Merlin, I know. He's eight already. I'm sort of not okay with that."

Lenna smiled. She knew the feeling, the frightening beginnings of the loss of control. The worry about whether or not you shaped your child into a good person.

"And it's Connie's first year and I miss her and worry about her," Grace sounded tired. "Walter misses her too, that's why he's been so crazy this year. He's upset a being the one left behind, and not having Connie has probably made me too overbearing…"

"Grace, hush," Lenna comforted gently, and put an arm around her. "You're the best mother I know, and I know things are hard, but you're going to sail through them with the wisdom and loveliness you are never without. You're fine."

"Thank you." Her sister-in-law's smile was grateful.

Lenna returned the smile and leaned over to look at some of the photos that were already hanging to dry. Her eyes were immediately drawn to a photo of her, Rigel, and Severus Snape at Christmas dinner. Grace noticed her staring at it and said tentatively, "I developed all of the photos of that Christmas, but if you'd like I'll just throw it—"

"Grace," Lenna said softly, interrupting her. "Tell me something. Does it look like he's faking it here with us? Does it look like he isn't genuinely happy with us? Like he's only pretending to care?"

Grace knew the helpful thing to say was "yes," but, after gazing at the unfamiliar man's face for a couple seconds, she simply went with the truth.

"No. No, it doesn't."

Lenna nodded. "Exactly. It's beyond my understanding."

The two women shook their heads quietly in the acceptance of mysteries that seemed to have no solving, and Lenna went back upstairs. She caught Walter as he came racing around the corner and his toy broom fell as she pulled him up into her arms.

"_Oof_!" she complained, grinning. "You're getting to bloody big to carry, aren't you, bud?"

"Yes," he said quite firmly, but still wrapped his arms around her neck. "Hello, Aunt Lenna."

"How're you, Walterpants? You mother tells me you've been wreaking havoc on the house."

He frowned as she sat down on the couch with him on her lap.

"I'm just playing."

"I know. How's Dinah?"

"She's good. She found a funny new sleeping place today. And we play this game where she chases me around and then I turn and chase her and then she turns and chases me around again. Except that today, I was thinking about how scary the game would be if Dinah were bigger and how big her little claws and teeth would be—and then as she was chasing me she turned as big as a tiger and just stood like that in the hallway—big as a tiger!"

Lenna had a hand to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter.

"Her eyes were so big! Then she stared investigating herself and the room and looked really happy before mummy came in and screamed and turned her back and told me I couldn't play that game anymore."

"I imagine she did."

"I told her that Dinah was nice as a big cat and wouldn't hurt me or her furniture or anything, but she still turned her small again."

Lenna shook her head in amusement. "Do you still invite your friends from school over?"

"Yes," he replied, "but I have to pretend not to know about magic with them and all they want to do sometimes is watch the TV and I think that the TV's boring."

Lenna chuckled.

"Is Rigel okay?" Walter asked her. "I heard dad tell mum yesterday that he's not taking classes anymore and he's hiding."

"Yes, he's hiding in a secret place in his school and we won't hear from him much anymore because they can't get or send owls from where he is. But I still have a way to contact him if I need to." She rubbed the face of her wrist watch, under which lay a thin scrying stone.

"Really?" Walt's eyes lit up. "Can I talk to him?"

"No, honey, it's only for emergencies."

"But it is an emergency! I want to tell him about what happened to Dinah!"

She laughed. "You can tell him when you see him again. I'm sure he'll get quite a laugh. Now." She stood up. "I need to eat some dinner."

"Why did you miss dinner?" He picked up his toy broom again as they went into the kitchen.

"I had to help a friend."

"Aunt Lenna?"

"Mhm?"

"I saw this newspaper, it was mum's, and it said that London was becoming a 'war zone'. They said it was dangerous and that Rigel's school was controlled by bad people. It said the big dark wizard was powerful and he's causing the war and the danger. Is Rigel going to be okay? Are people going to stop the wizard?"

"Where did you find this paper, Walt?" Lenna asked him gently, looking at his large, worried brown eyes. Only Connie had received her mother's blue eyes; Erin and Walt had eyes like their dad—and their aunt.

Grace wouldn't have left a paper like that out for Walter to see. Walter played with his fingers, visibly guilty. "It was on mum's desk in her room."

"You know you shouldn't go looking through your mum's things like that, Walt."

"I know, but I hear them talking all the time but when I come in they stop and don't answer my questions and I know bad things are happening."

Lenna sat down at the table and motioned for Walter to come up close. She held one of his hands and was reminded of Rigel at that age. It was nice how Rigel had grown into a friend and companion, but she still missed how he had been like when he was small, too.

"I think you should have some answers, Walter," she told him. "London is very dangerous right now. The bad wizard is strong, and has a lot of bad people willing to do what he says. He has people in Rigel's school and that's why Rigel isn't taking classes. Your mum and dad and I and a lot of other good people are working hard to fight the bad wizard and the people who do what he says, but it's a difficult job and it's scary. You mum and dad don't want to worry you when there's nothing you can do and that's why they don't talk about it with you."

"When you and dad go into the garage—you're practicing fighting, aren't you?"

"Yes. It's called dueling."

"I want to watch."

"You most certainly will not."

"But Aunt Lenna—"

"Walter," she said sternly, "listen to me. I gave you answers so you know what's happening, but you are still going to do as me and your mum and dad tell you when it comes to this stuff—always—because we know more than you. Do you promise to do as we say?"

Walter sighed, but he was grateful to his aunt for at least being honest with him.

"Yes," he promised.

"Okay. You want some pudding?"

"Yes!"


	37. CHAPTER 37: RUMBLE, RUMBLE

Credits to J.K. Rowling, whose book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I've taken pieces of this chapter directly from.

…

**CHAPTER 37: RUMBLE, RUMBLE  
><strong>

…

"Go fuck yourself," I replied, always the lady. "I'm staying here."  
>―Ava Gardner, <em>Ava: My Story<em>

…

**R**igel woke from a nap to Abraxas shaking him. His mouth was moving and everything was in silent commotion. Rigel grabbed for his wand and undid the deafening spell he had performed on himself to get some sleep.

Into his eardrums came a roar of noise, but he was almost still deaf to it because Harry Potter was standing in the portrait hole between the Room and the bar in the Hog's Head inn.

Scrambling, Rigel shoved on his shoes while listening, his blood racing, his heart beating double-time. Harry was talking quietly to Ron and Hermione about something and Fred, George, Ginny, Lee Jordan, and Cho Chang were now in the room. Rigel kicked himself for missing Harry's entrance. _It was all finally happening!_

"Okay," Harry called to the room at large and all noise ceased; Fred and George, who had been cracking jokes for the benefit of those nearest, fell silent and all of them looked alert and excited.

"There's something we need to find," Harry said, "Something—something that'll help us overthrow You-Know-Who. It's here at Hogwarts but we don't know where. It might have belonged to Ravenclaw. Has anyone heard of an object like that? Has anyone ever come across something with her eagle on it, for instance?"

He looked hopefully at the group of Ravenclaws: Padma, Michael, Terry, Cho, Luna, Rigel, Brax, and Scott and it was Luna who answered, "Well, there's her lost diadem. I told you about it, remember, Harry? The lost diadem of Ravenclaw? Daddy's trying to duplicate it."

"How'd they get here?" Rigel demanded of Brax and Scott while Cho, Michael, Luna, Ron, and Harry discussed the diadem. "Through the tunnel?"

"Yeah, and the Weasleys and the rest Apparated right into the Hog's Head bar and came through only a few minutes after—Neville sent a message that it was starting and to Apparate into there."

Rigel took out his own coin and read the message himself. He knew Holly would soon be on her way too, then. The thought filled him with pleasure—and fear. He didn't want her in danger.

Harry left with Luna to go to Ravenclaw Tower and the tunnel from the Hog's Head to the Room continued to see traffic. It seemed that the D.A.'s tipoff had spread to the Order which had further spread. Kingsley, Lupin, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, older boys and girls who looked like they had graduated within the last few years, and a collection of miscellaneous other old Order members Rigel had never learned the names of. Lenna appeared shortly after the Weasleys, with Cal.

She looked happy to find herself in the room her son was also in. She hugged him, as did his uncle. While Cal shook hands with Brax and Scott, Lenna asked Rigel what was happening.

"Harry's on some mission on orders Dumbledore gave him before he died, apparently. He went to Ravenclaw Tower with this girl Luna Lovegood. Everyone's sort of waiting for him to get back."

"What are the Death Eaters doing—anything? Do they know he's here? If they know he's here, You-Know-Who might be on his way."

"I don't know, mum."

"Well, there better be a fight, and if there isn't one already, we're gonna make one," Cal said determinedly. "This shite has all gone on long enough."

"Hear hear," Scott agreed. Brax was busy folding up a bit of parchment he had written on into a sort of winged shape.

He answered Rigel's questioning look, "Depending on what Harry says when he gets back, I might send this to find Marlena to tell her where to meet me so we can fight together."

Scott snorted. "Very romantic, Braxypoo. Why don't you slay Tybalt while you're at it?"

"Shut up."

"Speaking of romances," Scott continued, gesturing toward the portrait hole, "methinks I spy Rigel's."

Rigel spun around. "She doth teach the torches to burn bright," he murmured, before he had launched himself through the crowd to catch Holly up in his arms. Some of her large family was spilling in behind her, and she was pink with an embarrassed blush when he set her back on her feet. Two taller women were at her shoulders and she introduced them both to him.

"Mum, Tina, this is Rigel Albeney."

Her mother shook his hand curtly but her sister gave him a smile. Her blonde hair had curls unlike Holly's, but her electric blue eyes and lovely face shape were the same. She had a strong handshake. He remembered Holly had told him she was a good Quidditch player.

"Hello, Rigel. I've heard a lot about you. Why didn't you tell me how hot he was, sis?"

"I told you he was quite attractive, and you know it," Holly replied.

Rigel's cheeks grew warm and Christina laughed. Her laugh was lovely like her younger sister's, but less delicate. She had all the looks of a girl, but the strength and some of the mannerisms of a guy, and Rigel could tell by the way that Scott introduced himself to her that his interest was piqued. With people Scott was less interested in, he was full of ease and self-assurance, but when he really liked a girl, he lacked some of that easiness. Ri hadn't seen a girl get that reaction from him in a long time, and grinned at it.

Lenna came up to introduce herself to Holly for the first time and Rigel could tell from Holly's expression that she liked her. It made him grin with happiness. Holly also met Cal, and Cal immediately began calling her 'sweetie' and acting like he'd known her his entire life. It put Holly at ease like it did everyone who met him, and endeared her to him immediately too.

His mom also met Holly's rather gruff mother, and Kingsley happened to choose that moment to speak to Lenna about Order stuff, which made Holly's hard-to-impress mother's eyebrows rise in appreciation and respect. When Kingsley moved on, the two women got to talking and didn't stop until Harry reappeared.

By that time, the Room had expanded twice to accommodate all the people accumulating, and Rigel, Holly, Scott, Brax, Christina, and Cal were in the middle of a conversation about strategy if there was in fact going to be a battle in Hogwarts tonight.

"Harry, what's happening?" said Mr. Lupin, meeting him on his way in.

"Voldemort's on his way, they're barricading the school—Snape's run for it— What are you doing here? How did you know?"

"We sent messages to the rest of Dumbledore's Army," Fred explained. "You couldn't expect everyone to miss the fun, Harry, and the D.A. let the Order know, and it all kind of snowballed."

"What first, Harry?" called George. "What's going on?"

"They're evacuating the younger kids and everyone's meeting in the Great Hall to get organized. We're fighting."

There was a great roar and a surge towards the doors; Harry was pressed against the wall as people ran past him, all with their wands drawn. Rigel, Lenna, Cal, Holly, Christina, Holly's mom, Abraxas, and Scott all followed the surging, roaring crowd. They all half-ran to the Great Hall.

The enchanted ceiling was dark and scattered with stars, and below it the four long House tables were lined with disheveled students, some in traveling cloaks, some in dressing gowns. Here and there shone the pearly white figures of school ghosts. All seemed to be confusion.

"Order members are collecting up on the teachers' platform," Lenna said to Rigel. "I've got to go." She gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze and then left them.

"Rigel!" a small, high voice called out and Rigel turn to see a tiny, blonde girl-missile bolting toward him. She was closely followed by her darker, watchful older sister.

"What's going on, Rigel?" Cathleen Holmes asked him. She looked frightened, but he was glad to see that probably thanks to Marlena she was dressed in sturdy traveling garb.

"You-Know-Who is coming," he answered her without pretense. "The teachers are fortifying the school and organizing the underage students for evacuation. Make sure you get out of here, Cathy."

"But—Lena…" Cathy looked to her sister. "Are—are you going to stay?"

Marlena looked to Abraxas.

"Are you?" she asked him.

"Yes," he answered with no hesitation, "but you should go, Lena. If you get hurt, who would take care of Cathy?"

She looked at her little sister. She nodded. "I can't take that risk. But you know I would stay if I could."

"Well, _I'm_ staying," came Ivy's silky voice; she was sauntering up to them from behind Lena and Cathy. "Even if I'm the only Slytherin who does. I wanna see some of these Eater bastards get fucked. And do some of the fucking." She twirled her wand in her fingers and grinned devilishly.

Rigel raised his eyebrows appreciatively—he hadn't pegged Ivy as the noble sort.

"With that attitude, I don't know why you weren't put into Gryffindor, love," Scott said, winking at her.

"I'm insulted," she purred.

"Attention! Your attention, please!" Professor McGonagall called, climbing up onto the raised platform. The room hushed. Behind her stood the remaining teachers, including the palomino centaur, Firenze, and the members of the Order of the Phoenix, including his mom.

"By now you all have probably heard why you've been called from your beds. Hogwarts castle is threatened by He Who Must not Be Named and its defenses will not last indefinitely, therefore I am calling for each and every student who does not wish to fight, and every student who is still underage, to evacuate the castle as soon as possible. The evacuation will be overseen by Mr. Filch and Madam Pomfrey. Prefects, when I give the word, you will organize your House and take your charges, in an orderly fashion, to the evacuation point."

Many of the students looked petrified.

"What about our things?" called a girl from the Ravenclaw table. "Our trunks, our owls?"

"We have no time to collect possessions," said McGonagall. "The important thing is to get you out of here safely."

"Where's Professor Snape?" shouted a Slytherin girl.

"He has, to use the common phrase, done a bunk," replied Professor McGonagall, and a great cheer erupted from the Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, and Ravenclaws.

"Figures," Rigel muttered to Holly. "He's been a coward all year."

Rigel saw Harry enter the room and move down the Gryffindor table, to many turning heads and whispers.

"I must ask you to move quickly and calmly, and do as your prefects—" Her final words were drowned out as a different voice echoed throughout the hall. It was cold and clear. There was no telling from where it came; it seemed to issue from the walls themselves.

"I know that you are preparing to fight."

There were screams among the students, some of whom clutched each other, looking around in terror for the source of the voice. "Your efforts are futile. You cannot fight me. I do not want to kill you. I have great respect for the teachers of Hogwarts. I do not want to spill magical blood."

There was a silence in the Hall now, the kind of silence that presses against the eardrums, that seems too huge to be contained by walls.

"Give me Harry Potter," said Voldemort's voice, "and none shall be harmed. Give me Harry Potter, and I shall leave the school untouched. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded. You have until midnight."

The silence swallowed them all again. Rigel's arms had goose bumps—that had been the first time he had ever heard Voldemort's voice and it was more terrifying than he had imagined. Every eye in the place seemed to have found Harry.

In the silence a figure rose from the Slytherin table and a seventh-year girl raised a shaking arm and screamed, "But he's there! Potter's _there_! Someone grab him!"

Rigel stood with the rest of the Gryffindors in a massive movement that made the benches rasp against the stone floor. He raised his wand and they all stood with their backs toward Harry, protective and grim-faced. Almost at the same moment, the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws also stood, facing the Slytherins with wands drawn from cloaks and shirtsleeves. Even Ivy had stood with them, her wand raised against the rest of her House, a disgusted look on her pretty face. Cathleen too was holding out her wand defiantly, glaring at the Slytherin girl, though she was holding it wrong. Rigel adjusted her wand arm gently and she looked up at him sheepishly.

"Thank you, Miss Parkinson," said Professor McGonagall in a clipped voice. "You will leave the Hall first with Mr. Filch. If the rest of your House could follow."

There was a grinding of benches and the Slytherins trooped out of the other side of the Hall.

"Ravenclaws, follow on!" commanded McGonagall.

Slowly, the tables emptied. Marlena kissed Abraxas and then took Cathy's hand and the two followed out with the Hufflepuffs. A fair number of older Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs remained at the tables, and half the Gryffindors, necessitating Professor McGonagall's descent from the teachers' platform to chivvy the underage on their way.

"Absolutely not, Creevey, go! _And_ you, Peakes!"

Kingsley stepped forward on the raised platform to address those who remained behind.

"We've only got half an hour until midnight, so we need to act fast. A battle plan has been agreed between the teachers of Hogwarts and the Order of the Phoenix. Professors Flitwick, Sprout, and McGonagall are going to take groups of fighters up to the three highest towers—Ravenclaw, Astronomy, and Gryffindor—where they'll have a good overview, excellent positions from which to work spells. Meanwhile Remus" —he indicated Lupin— "Arthur" —he pointed toward Mr. Weasley, sitting at the Gryffindor table—"and I will take groups into the grounds. We'll need somebody to organize defense of the entrances of the passageways into the school—"

"Sounds like a job for us," called Fred, indicating himself and George, and Kingsley nodded his approval.

"Alright, leaders up here and we'll divide up the troops!"

"Troops," Scott repeated, his face a bit pale. "Merlin…"

Cal was busying himself putting all the reflective and repellant charms he knew and had learned from his sister on the three boys, Holly and Ivy, teaching the words to them so they could reapply them. Holly's mother watched and listened to his work, and when she heard one she didn't know, she and Christina added it to their own protection.

Lenna rejoined the group and Cal asked her immediately, "What's the plan for us?"

"Kinsley asked me to stay on the main floor or maybe the second and help guard the front entrance. I've been working on some curse traps that will be triggered only by Dark Marks and I want to try to set them up in the front hall. I think if we all could stay together, that would be ideal, although it might be safer higher up depending on how much damage gets done to the infrastructure—in fact, I might try to fortify the walls magically—" She looked at her watch. It's quarter to midnight. Let's get on this."

"Sounds good." Cal followed her out into the huge front entryway of the castle and Mrs. Pollux set to fortifying the walls and floors while Lenna set her Dark Mark traps.

Rigel was busy giving Brax, Scott, Holly, and Ivy a crash-course reminder of the most useful dueling spells and curses he knew. Often, they were the simple ones—ones that incapacitated an opponent, like rope-binding or a freezing jinx like _Petificus Totalus_. "Always go for the wand arm and the feet," he told them. "You'd be surprised how distracted people will get by something happening to their feet. At close range, the throat. If you don't want to kill, there's a whole range of ways to knock somebody out." He taught them those.

"And don't forget to just throw them, if you can, preferably into something hard. _Stupify_, _Iacio_—and remember that there's more than one way to stop somebody. You don't have to be violent if you're clever. A good Cunfundus Charm will stop somebody in their tracks and make them useless. Knee Reversal, _Langlock_ keeps them from being able to say spells, Leg-Locker Curse, _Obscuro_, the Stinging Hex—you could even _shrink_ Death Eaters if you wanted to, I bet they'd be less intimidating that way."

Christina, who was listening, chuckled.

"And if you're prepared to kill…" He grimaced and taught them the words for a variety of curses that would boil insides, remove limbs, sever arteries, puncture the heart, reduce the brain to mush, etc. Everyone grew visibly paler as he went through this lesson, because they knew that all of these the Death Eaters could also try to use on them—and they'd be less hesitant about it.

Holly and Brax's mouths moved silently, trying to memorize as much of what he was saying as they could.

"And if your mind blanks, just put all your mental power into shielding yourself and get someplace safe. It's good to be brave, but nobody can be a hero when they're in over their head. We all would much prefer each other safe to dead."

There were curt nods; Christina was looking at her little sister's boyfriend with increased respect.

Rigel looked at his watch. "We've only got a couple more minutes."

"I hope Harry finds what he's after," Abraxas muttered. "I heard the teachers saying how we just won't be able to keep You Know Who out for long. This is gonna get ugly fast."

Rigel nodded, knowing what he said was true. He squeezed Holly's hand.

The ground rumbled. And rumbled again. Through the windows that Holly's mom had fortified, there were multi-colored flashed of light out on the dark grounds. A weird, keening scream reached their ears.

It had begun.


	38. CHAPTER 38: DARK LORD DESCENDING

Credits to J.K. Rowling, whose book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I've taken pieces of this chapter directly from.

…

**CHAPTER 38: DARK LORD DESCENDING  
><strong>

…

"Reason lost the battle, and all I could do was surrender and accept I was in love."  
>―Paulo Coelho, <em>The Witch Of Portobello<em>

…

**T**he eight of them gazed around at each other. Another rumble shook them—this time it felt like the entire castle was shaking. There was a high-pitched and sinister whine in the air and a large vase to one side of the staircase blew off its plinth with explosive force. They turned and ducked, but the china shrapnel flew harmlessly off of the protective charms coating their bodies. There was a mighty crack and they stared at the spidery fracture that had appeared in the marble staircase. Sinister and powerful enchantments had taken hold of Hogwarts castle, and they were not ones cast by teachers or the Order.

The noise level began to rise. There were screams, crashes of breaking glass from other parts of the castle were spells and cursed soared in through windows, and more flashes of light on the dark grounds. A flurry of owls swept through the entryway overhead.

"I want a few of you up higher on the staircase," said Lenna, in a reassuringly cool and strong voice. "And let's spread out. A couple people near the doors to the hall, a couple people in front of that right hallway, and a couple here. She and Cal remained; Brax and Christina took the high ground on the stairs; Rigel and Holly took the entrance to the western corridor and Mrs. Pollux and Ivy planted themselves in front of the Great Hall.

As they waited, Christina repaired the damage to the marble staircase. Brax riveted his eyes on the great oak front doors. Rigel stood perfectly still, listening to everything with fierce anticipation. Holly kept loosening the fingers that she kept unconsciously balling into fists. Scott's heart was beating so hard he was worried about the thing. Cal was feeling unprepared for this, but refused to let his worry show. Lenna was hoping that at some point that night, she would be given the pleasure of dueling Severus Snape to the death.

The screams, crackles, and bangs were closer…closer…_here_.

The great oak doors flew open despite Lenna and Holly's mother's sealing enchantments. The windows rang with vibration but did not crack, though they'd been hit with spells. The battle on the ground appeared to have been lost, and Death Eaters were attempting to funnel in.

The welcoming party they met caused them to have a hard time of it—as did Lenna's hidden Dark Mark traps. Two Eaters screamed, burning alive in a sudden, contained inferno, and another found himself ridden with large spikes that jutted out from inside him. Still more simply collapsed inert, causing a tripping hazard for the remaining fighters that were closing on the Eater force from behind, including Kingsley and Arthur from the grounds. Their combined flanking effort overpowered the group of Death Eaters. Lenna herself, like a force unstoppered, cut savagely through their ranks. Rigel had never seen her this way before; she usually went for unconsciousness or incapacitation and let someone else clean up, but tonight she dueled to kill.

She wiped splattered blood from her robe arm as Kingsley whirled around. The high-pitched whine gave only a few moment's notice, but it was enough for the seasoned Auror, and he raised his wand and reflected the explosive curse that had been lobbed at the open doors. It exploded back across the grounds.

Suddenly one of Mrs. Pollux's reinforced windows vibrated with a high-pitched hum and then finally shattered. Curses flew in—and more Death Eaters. The floor shook again and a curse got past Kingsley and exploded against the foot of the staircase, sending up pieces of marble and wood. There were screams from the Great Hall—Death Eaters were breaking in through the walls and windows there. And there were shouts and crashes from the western side of the castle.

Mrs. Pollux, Ivy, Scott, Abraxas, and Christina went to deal with the break-in in the Hall; Rigel, Holly, Lenna, Cal, Kingsley, and Arthur kept the encroaching Death Eaters at bay in the spacious entry hall. They did well; Rigel and Holly guarded the windows and picked the Eaters off as they funneled through, and the others dueled the ones coming in the front doors. Lenna's traps continued to work and caught more Eaters. Soon the charred bodies and bloody, spiked bodies had become an unsightly pile, and she cleared them away. Arthur raised his wand as an Eater charged in, only to see him immediately slump forward, unconscious.

"I better scoot over," he called. "This section's taken care of!"

Lenna laughed and shot the next Eater to show their face in the windows to the right of the doors a nasty curse right in the face.

Cal was doing well and it had given him a bit more confidence.

"The dueling practice paid off, Len!" he shouted to her.

"I'm glad!"

Another Eater leapt up through the window, and with a vicious swipe of her wand, all the blood in the Eater's head came ripping out, tearing his skin apart as it went. His faceless head along with the rest of what he had been landed with a disgusting slap on the bloody, debris-strewn floor and Cal exclaimed with a shudder, "_Christ_!"

"I didn't like his face," said his sister. She Vanished the body with her wand—as well as the splattered pool of crimson that had so recently been inside him.

The floor was coated with broken glass, pieces of wood, marble, and china, and slippery with blood. The Eaters began to get at them with sheer numbers, and Lenna found herself dueling a protected and rather skilled opponent. Blind to everything else, she ground her jaw and whirled about in a dance of stabbing beams of light.

Rigel and Holly disappeared down the western hallway pursuing enemies and the people who were defending the Great Hall abandoned it and fell back to the entry hall. Every minute, the castle shook with another attempt of the same sinister enchantment to break through its protective shields.

…

Abraxas wished he had Rigel's skill at dueling as the Death Eater stalked him around the banister on the second floor. He had attempted to sever off one of the man's legs but hadn't put enough umph in it, and now the man with blood-soaked trousers felt he had a personal vendetta against this particular boy.

As he heard the man get closer, Brax used his wits and transfigured the portrait hanging across from him into a skunk. Not only would McGonagall have been proud of him, but it distracted the Death Eater for the moment Brax needed to jump from his hiding place and use one of Rigel's kill spells. The spell severed a very important internal artery, and the man shuddered and stopped. He attempted to shoot a last curse at Brax, but he deflected it and watched as the man slumped to the floor, some blood seeping from his mouth.

Brax shook with relief—and disbelief that he had just killed somebody.

But then the skunk which had formerly been a portrait began to stomp its little legs in warning and Brax couldn't remember how to turn it back, so he booked it.

…

She kept trying to stun the short, skinny Death Eater she was dueling, but the bloke was quick. It was hard to see in the dark remains of what had once been a corridor, but with a soft snarl, Ivy leapt over a part of the wall and right into the man, knocking his wand physically from his hand.

"_Ivy_?!"

She stared down in surprise at the guy whose hood had fallen off when he fell.

It was her cousin.

"Pike, what the fuck are you _doing_, man?"

"I'm—I'm breaking into the school!"

"_I GO to this school_, _you fucking dumbass_!" she yelled at him and socked him in the mouth before knocking him out and tying him up.

…

Things were deteriorating by the minute. The corridors she and Rigel ran down in pursuit of Death Eaters were full of falling masonry and people running, screaming, sobbing, lying moaning… Walls were blown apart, paintings ripped up, craters blown into the floor, and the frequency of flashes of light made Holly feel like she was perpetually ducking and cringing.

The fact that she had Rigel with her made her at least feel tolerably safe; he'd been able to cut down every Eater they'd found. He truly was a formidable dueler. He'd trained himself since he was young to become so, so he could take down the people in the organization that had driven his father to his early grave.

Her concentration was at its worst with all the chaos and she was terrified that every step would bring destruction. She'd seen people get blown up along with parts of walls, Death Eater boots crunch faces beneath them, and was afraid for her mother and sister. She followed Rigel almost blindly through the chaos, allowing him to clear their way.

Suddenly, from behind them, a huge, sickening explosion rent the air and everyone seemed to freeze for a moment. She and Rigel bolted to a window and saw to their left that some of the side of the castle had been blown away in a terrible attack. From there flew up a terrible cry, expressing the kind of agony that neither flame nor curse could cause—someone loved was dead.

Holly felt tears welling. She didn't know who that someone was, but she probably knew them. She and Rigel watched as gigantic spiders, the like of which Rigel had never seen, began crawling across the ground and one was attempting to crawl through the new hole.

"We can't stay, Holly!" Rigel cried to her—those who filled the wide corridor they were in were battling again with vengeance. "C'mon!"

He pulled her behind him with his hand clasping hers and she felt her tears rolling down her cheeks. Why was she being so weak? She was angry with herself, but all she truly wanted was to flee from the noise and death and pain, find her mother and sister, and get to safety. Was she a coward?

As they ran around a corner, Rigel ran into a burly Death Eater. The tall man caught him with large, wiry, tattooed hands. He had his cloak hood up, but they could see the tattoos winding around his eyes and curling across his cheekbones.

"Where you goin', little man?" he asked with a malicious grin, and put his wand tip to Rigel's temple.

…

Why did she always choose the most skilled opponents? This one was defensible because she'd stepped in to relieve Arthur of him, but he was tiring her out. She wished all Death Eaters could just be think brutes, but life just can't always be easy.

The last duel she'd fought, she'd been thrown along with debris into a wall and a hunk of rock had smashed into her watch, cracking it and the precious scrying stone that was kept inside it. It had caused panic to flutter through her. The watch was magically mendable, but not the stone. What if Rigel needed her? She wouldn't hear him.

Her watch wrist still ached badly and now, in the middle of another duel she couldn't escape from, she realized that battle dulled one's senses. You hear less, you think less broadly. It tired your mind. She'd noticed she'd been falling back on around five curses that she could readily call upon, but she strove to remember the twenty or thirty more than she'd had at her command earlier that night.

_He's learning your steps, your moves—change. Stay ahead of him. _

She'd learned from Regulus that the best way to win a duel was to be unpredictable. _Wit, not brute strength._

As if she were handling a football with her cleats on a grassy field like she had as a kid, she feinted and then swerved back, and hit the Eater with two new curses rapid-fire. One was deflected, but her second hit its target.

It didn't do the damage she had expected, however, and she wasn't prepared for retaliation. The Death Eater thrust his wand forward and Lenna's shield wasn't fast enough.

Someone else's was.

And then someone else got him from behind and down he went. Lenna hadn't been able to see where the Shield Charm had come from, but she'd been able to spot the source of the bolt of red light that had taken out her dangerous opponent.

On the balcony above, Severus Snape stood, wand raised. His eyes met hers and the expression in them made her heart stutter with confusion. _Why would he protect me?_

He turned and disappeared. Barely thinking, Lenna bolted up the half-ruined marble staircase in pursuit.

…

It was autumn. The leaf piles that someone had raked up were now Rigel's to demolish gleefully. His dad, his raven hair graying a little, ran at him, grinning. Rigel stood his ground and barked out a breathless laugh when his dad tackled him into the leaf pile.

"_Oof_!"

Regulus laughed and grabbed a handful of leaves to muss into his son's hair. Rigel cried out and rolled off the pile. He grabbed two fistfuls of crinkly leaves and threw them both at his dad; they caught the slight wind and barely went anywhere and he and Regulus guffawed with laughter.

His mom came up to them, smiling and bundled in a think gray sweater and a pretty, multi-colored scarf. She slid an arm around his dad and Regulus looked sideways at her with a loving smirk. He kissed her on her head, but Rigel interrupted their moment with another thrown fistful of leaves. His mom cried out and laughed.

"You're askin' for it!" Regulus yelled, and bolted after his cackling teenage son. He caught him and swung him around from behind.

"_Yarr_!"

Rigel couldn't stop laughing. He laughed until he thought his lungs would burst. In fact they were. Bursting. Something was hurting him and the autumn was slipping away. He didn't want it to go away—he clawed at it—

"_Dad! Dad!_ _No! Daaaad!_"

The pain wasn't in his lungs, it was in his mind, and then suddenly it was gone, gone with the autumn leaves and his father.

His open eyes registered Holly's anxious, terrified face.

"Rigel? _Rigel_, can you hear? Ri…?"

He made a croaking sound and sat up a tiny bit. "Holly."

Holly breathed a sob of relief and was suddenly kissing him. He was dizzy. Was there a battle going on? Or had that been a dream too?

She kissed him and held him to her.

"God, I thought you weren't there anymore…" she groaned after a moment or two.

"I'm okay," he mumbled, smiling in reassurance. "Kiss me again?"

She did. He got more into it this time.

"I should have kissed you before, _Merlin_, you could have just _died_—"

"I should almost die more often," he chuckled.

"No, you should _not_!"

The small corridor was eerily quiet except for them, and when he looked around he could see why. Two Death Eaters and someone else were on the floor. One of the Death Eaters, the one closest to him and the one Rigel recognized, had a long, gashed hole in his chest, like someone had put an enormous axe through him.

"Did you do that? And that? And him?"

"You—they—he was hurting you."

"But you did that? You took out all three?"

She flapped her hands about. "He had you and I—I just exploded on them. I didn't kill that other man—I don't think he's a Death Eater. But I just…yeah."

"Holy shite, Holly. Maybe you should be going first."

She giggled; it sounded a little high and breathy because of all the adrenaline still coursing through her.

"Do you think he did anything to you, Ri? I was so scared that he—that he might have—maybe you should just—"

"I'm okay." He was holding up his hands. "He just…well…he just took me out of the game for a while. But we need to get going again. Kick some more ass." He smiled at her and pulled her down for another kiss because he could.

…

She crept up on Severus Snape in a maze of bookshelf walls on the second floor.

She disarmed him nonverbally and beheld the genuine shock in his eyes with immense pleasure as she came the rest of the way around the shelf and stood in the aisle in front of him, his wand near her foot.

"Why did you save me just then, Sev?" she asked casually. "Were you picking one fight or another to play with from your perch on high and getting your rocks off playing God?"

"Because I love you," he replied in a low, soft voice.

Her expression didn't even flicker.

"So much that you would murder one of my favorite people and the Order's hope and happiness," she sighed lightly in reply. "You're awfully romantic, darling. I think I could only match that little gift by cursing your manhood off."

He had nothing to say to that.

After a pause, he murmured, "You'll understand soon, Len. I swear to you. When you have all the pieces of the truth, you'll see how I have always been on your side and have always done as Albus asked me."

Lenna chuckled. "No more lies, Sev. You're so wrapped up in them I don't even know how you could know who you are, but I know that you murdered Albus, and I don't need to know anything more. You're a sick piece of shite."

"Do you remember that night before everything happened? Do you remember what I told you? You didn't know why I was saying it and you told me I didn't have to apologize for anything, and I couldn't tell you why. I told you that no matter what things look like, I love you. I told you I was sorry, because I knew I would have to put you through pain and confusion, but I had hoped that what I said might cause you to trust in me despite everything, and to keep you from that pain. But I was afraid of making it too clear…and I see in your eyes that you don't trust a single word anymore…"

She was chuckling at him again. Her eyes had grown hot and shiny earlier in his speech, but she had recovered her control.

"You're good at what you do, Sev, I'll give you that. But I'm not going to give you a knife to burry in my back again. You're a lying, greasy, rat, and I was a fool to think I saw any good hiding in you. You're a black hole where a man should be, and I think there should be one less back hole in the world."

"I can't let you do that," he murmured.

"Excuse me?"

Suddenly he was rolling toward her. Her startled, retributive curse missed, and then he had his wand, and then her shield wasn't up in time, and then she was limp and immobile on the floor. Shame and fury turned her veins to smoking ash. Only her eyes could move and they tried to smite him with the force of their fiery malice. He ignored them. Severus sat down onto the floor beside her and pulled her into his arms. He held her close and confusion swirled inside her, melting her fury.

"Lenna, I love you," he murmured to her. "I know it seems impossible now, I know it does, but everything I've done has been for you, Rigel, Harry, Albus… I love you and I'm so sorry… God, I'm…" He pulled his arms down slightly to look down into her face and she was shocked to see real tears on his cheeks. What was he gaining from this display? Was he just trying to melt one of his enemies with lies so he had one less to worry about? Yes, that must be it… Or was he simply insane?

He touched her cheek and her hair gently.

"I beg you," he said softly, "wait until you know everything to judge me. Please. Because there are things you have no idea of, Len…and I'm the hinge pin of it all, and…" He held her tight again and rocked her. "God, I've missed being able to hold you so much. I've missed you so…I love you. I love you. It's the truest thing I've ever said, please trust me…" He sighed and wiped his face with the back of his hand. He took a fortifying breath and squeezed her tightly a last time before laying her gently down on the floor.

He lifted the curse as he hurried away, but Lenna did not chase after him. She lay there on the floor, shaking with hatred, confusion, and above all, the strong, irrational, detestable desire to be lying in his arms again.


	39. CHAPTER 39: TEARS

Credits to J.K. Rowling, whose book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I've taken pieces of this chapter directly from.

...

**CHAPTER 39: TEARS  
><strong>

...

"Though lovers be lost, love shall not  
>And death shall have no dominion."<br>―Dylan Thomas

...

"**D**o not pretend, Lucius. You wish the battle to case so that you can discover what has happened to your son. And I do not need to seek Potter. Before the night is out, Potter will have come to find me."

Voldemort dropped his gaze again to the wand in his fingers. It troubled him…and those things that troubled Lord Voldemort needed to be rearranged…

"Go and fetch Snape."

"Snape, m-my Lord?"

"Snape. Now. I need him. There is a—service—I require from him. Go."

Frightened, stumbling a little through the gloom, Lucius Malfoy left the room. Voldemort continued to stand there, twirling the wand between his fingers, staring at it.

"It is the only way, Nagini," he whispered, and he looked around, and there was the great thick snake, now suspended in midair, twisting gracefully within the enchanted, protected space he had made for her, a starry, transparent sphere somewhere between glittering cage and tank.

…

Lenna flattened herself into a nook which used to house a suit of armor as a herd of galloping desks thundered past, shepherded by a sprinting Professor McGonagall. Her hair had come down and there was a gash on her cheek. After a minute she heard her voice distinctly yelling "CHARGE!" from some corridor further down.

She was fighting less now, and more concerned with finding what had happened to Cal and Rigel. She hadn't seen either of them for some time and was extremely worried, especially seeing all the carnage and injured students strewn about and the fact that Rigel could no longer contact her with his stone.

Peeves was whizzing around, dropping Snargaluff pods on the heads of dueling Death Eaters. Students ran in every direction, some crying or dragging injured friends. Yaxley was engaged with Flitwick close to the front doors; Neville came into sight brandishing armfuls of some sort of plant with thick tendrils that looped themselves happily around the nearest Death Eater and began reeling him in.

Rubies and emeralds from the House hourglasses were spread across the floor so that people slipped and slid as they ran. Some woman in enormous spectacles was lobbing crystal balls off the balcony at Death Eaters below.

More of the enormous spider monsters Lenna had seen earlier but had avoided were climbing in through the windows.

_Why doesn't everyone just shrink the things?_ She aimed a shrinking spell at one, and it rebounded and hit a Death Eater in the ass, reducing the large, ugly woman to a height of about four inches.

_Oh, that's why._

She ran for it.

Throwing herself through the open and momentarily unoccupied front doors, she ran out onto the grounds and then immediately wished she hadn't come out at all. She scrambled backwards—away from the giants who were advancing upon the front of the castle. She felt like a squashable bug and knew spells wouldn't do any good upon their thick, magic-repellant hides. She ran again, trying to put distance between her and the beasts. She hated moving away from the castle, though, where Rigel and Cal might need her—

Severus.

He was slipping across the ground and heading toward Hogsmeade. She felt the urge to follow but was distracted by a fight between giants that had broken out and again had to run for her safety. When she crept back, having given up on tailing Severus and wanting to get back into the castle and find her brother, she saw three people she hadn't seen all evening: Harry, Hermione, and Ron. She watched from behind a bush as the three stilled the Whomping Willow somehow and slid down into an earthy tunnel the tree protected.

She hesitated for a moment. No doubt they were doing something stupid and heroic and dangerous. They could use an adult's protection. Harry was all they had. But then Cal and Rigel…

No. The cause came first.

She slunk under the Willow, hoping to Merlin that whatever spell they had used didn't wear off before she could squeeze in the tunnel. It was a tight fit and there was nothing for it but to crawl. Behind her, the Willow's limbs again began to thrash menacingly. She illuminated her wand and followed the children cautiously. As the tunnel began to slope upward and there was a dull glow of light ahead, Lenna unlit her wand and proceeded as quietly as she could humanly manage. Her pulse was beating loud in her ears.

She could see by the sliver of light ahead, Ron and Hermione on their hands and knees. There were voices coming from the room above them. Ron and Hermione saw her by the dim light and raised their wands; she lifted one hand in a calming gesture and put the other to her lips.

They relaxed slightly and allowed her to crawl near them and remain there, listening with them. After a few moments she noticed a disembodied shoe on the stairs by Ron and realized Harry was invisible ahead of the two of them, most likely crouching to watch through the tiny crack. The light went through him, but in a way that had an almost imperceptible warping to it. Lenna listened along with them, and identifying the two voices hardly did anything for her nerves.

"My Lord knows I seek only to serve him," Severus was saying. "But—let me go and find the boy, my Lord. Let me bring him to you. I know I can—"

"I have told you, no!" cried Voldemort. "My concern at the moment, Severus, is what will happen when I finally meet the boy."

"My Lord, there can be no question, surely—?"

"—but there _is_ a question, Severus. There _is_." He paused. "Why did both the wands I have used fail when directed at Harry Potter?"

"I—I cannot answer that, my Lord."

"Can't you?" He paused again. "My wand of yew did everything of which I asked it, Severus, except to kill Harry Potter. Twice it failed. Ollivander told me under torture of the twin cores, told me to take another's wand. I did so, but Lucius' shattered upon meeting Potter's."

"I have no explanation, my Lord."

"I sought a third wand, Severus. The Elder Wand, the Wand of Destiny, the Deathstick. I took it from its previous master. I took it from the grave of Albus Dumbledore."

"My Lord—let me go to the boy—"

"All this long night, when I am on the brink of victory, I have sat here," said Voldemort, his voice scarcely louder than a whisper so that Lenna had to hold her breath to hear it, "wondering, wondering, why the Elder Wand refuses to be what it ought to be, refuses to perform and legend says it must perform for its rightful owner…and I think I have the answer."

Snape said nothing.

"Perhaps you already know it? You are a clever man, after all, Severus. You have been a good and faithful servant, and I regret what must happen."

"My Lord—"

"The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its last owner. You killed Albus Dumbledore. While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand can never be truly mine."

"My Lord!"

Lenna felt as if her heart had stopped. Panic rushed through her like a tide, breaking on her skin.

"It cannot be any other way," said Voldemort. "I must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last."

For all her logic and after all the evil had done, Lenna would have given her life to try to save his. She realized that in that moment. But she would not sacrifice the lives of the three children crowded near her. And so, with trembling hands—trembling everything—she pressed the little fleshy stubs on her ears tight against their ear holes with her fingers and closed her eyes.

"_No… Lenna, no. I'm not conflicted about this because of her. I might have been at the beginning, but only because what I was feeling made me worry that I didn't know myself. Or the nature of love. If that makes sense. I had been so ready to devote myself merely to her memory… It threw me to have love enter my life again."_

_She sat up and kissed his pale, smooth shoulder gently. It was warm, and she let her mouth linger. He turned to look at her and his dark eyes were tender. _

"_This is actually what she…what she had always wanted for me. I just was never ready for it," he finished in a low voice. _

"_We're both so similar," she murmured. _

_He chuckled once. "Hm." He lay back down and Lenna snuggled into his side. When she glanced up at his face again there was pain on it again, and conflict. She propped herself up to look at him, eyebrows furrowed. _

"_Severus. What is it?"_

_He exhaled and brought a hand up to caress her hair. There was a shadow on his face, in his eyes. "Len…I want you to hear something. And I don't want to talk about it. I just…want to say it."_

"_Alright."_

_He took a breath and looked away from her. He couldn't conceal the issues raging in his dark eyes. This was something serious he was struggling with but Lenna didn't know what. She watched him intently, trying to understand. _

"_I want you to know," he whispered, "that whatever things look like, whatever happens in the future…I love you. God help me, but I love you. If the path of my life hadn't been in such serious motion already, I would abandon it all to never part from you. But I can't. I'm sorry if things… I'm just… I'm sorry. Lenna, I'm so sorry."_

"_I don't know what you're apologizing for, Sev," she replied in a soft voice. "You haven't done anything wrong. It's alright." She stroked his jaw with her hand tenderly and he closed his eyes. _

Lost in control of herself and the memory she had dragged up to console her in this endless moment, Lenna Black barely heard the scream as her love was torn into by a snake.

"I regret it," came Voldemort's cold voice.

After, there were a few moments of quiet as the dark wizard swept from the place. She was crying and shaking. She watched as Harry levitated a box from on top of the tunnel's entrance into the Shrieking Shack, and the four of them climbed up into the room.

Ignoring the children, she fell down in the seeping blood by Severus' side and pulled his upper body into her lap. Clinging to a desperate hope, she pulled the phial of phoenix tears from around her neck that Fawkes had given her what seemed like so long ago and slowly poured its contents onto Severus' mortal wounds. It seemed to make no difference; the tears were closing the wound but he was still dying. She refused to use the last few drops on him, in case her son or brother had a need.

He was still dying.

She broke into a sob and slumped across him.

"Oh God, Sev, please…"

There was a strangled-sounding swallowing noise and she yanked her head up to look at his face. His eyes were a little brighter and slowly the noises he forced through his mending throat grew clearer. Lenna wept with profound, trembling relief, but turned from him and tried to wipe the wetness from her face with her hands.

Harry had taken off his Invisibility Cloak.

"Harry," Severus said, his voice still hoarse. "You…need this. Take it."

As he spoke, a few tears ran from his eyes, but they weren't tears. They were neither gas nor liquid and were a silvery blue. Hermione conjured a tiny flash and thrust it into Harry hand. Harry siphoned the substance into it with his wand.

"You'll know now," he said softly, though his voice was stronger. "Everything. Go."

But suddenly, Voldemort's voice reverberated from the walls and floor, making Lenna and the three kids twitch with terror, thinking he had come back into the room. But he was talking to all of Hogwarts and the surrounding area.

"You have fought. Valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. You have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled his a loss and a waste.

"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately. You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured.

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that hour, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you, and I shall punish every last man, woman, and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

"Don't listen to him," said Ron immediately.

"It'll be alright," said Hermione wildly. "Let's—let's get back to the castle and—"

"Harry," Lenna interjected roughly. "You need to look at those memories, I think." Severus' hand resting on her arm squeezed her there gently. "Now."

Harry nodded and with last looks at them, the three obediently hurried back through into the tunnel. Lenna gazed down at Severus who looked up at her. All that was now left of the hideous, deadly wound he had borne only minutes ago were the scars of fang marks on his neck and the blood on the floor and himself. He raised his arm and cupped the side of her face in his hand, stroking her gently there with his thumb.

"In those memories," he said softly, "Harry is going to see all the truth that I asked you to wait for. How I have loved his mother since I was very young. How, when the Dark Lord murdered her, I was Dumbledore's forever, though the Dark Lord never knew or understood. How I have been playing triple agent always. How the curse on Dumbledore's hand would have claimed his life and so he planned with me for me to kill him at the end of last year and therefore save him from death at another Death Eater's hands and save me from any more suspicion on the Dark Lords part."

Lenna was crying again. He brushed the tears from her cheeks with his thumb.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?"

"You know I couldn't have. It could have undermined everything. The Dark Lord is the best Legillimens in the world."

"And you're apparently the best Occlumens."

"I am."

She laughed a little. "Sev…I…"

Words ceased to be enough for either of them. Severus pushed himself up and they kissed. Covered in blood and dust and tears, they kissed, and Lenna, wrapping her body and soul utterly around this man again, never wanted to let go.

He wept as they embraced and she understood that. She trembled, and he understood that too. They held each other as tightly as they could.


	40. CHAPTER 40: YOUR HERO IS DEAD

Credits to J.K. Rowling, whose book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I've taken much of this chapter directly from.

…

**CHAPTER 40: YOUR HERO IS DEAD  
><strong>

…

"I didn't know I'd be around  
>The morning after"<br>-Elliot Smith, Say Yes

…

"**I**…" she managed eventually, "I need to go find my son and brother, Sev. See if they're hurt or…"

"They're fine," he said immediately as she helped him stand. "I'm sure they're fine, Len. That boy of yours can duel like none other."

Her bone-deep anxiety cracked the surface. "But he's just a boy, and Cal's not amazing at dueling and—"

"Shh," he soothed gently, taking her hands in his hands and kissing her gently on the brow. "Easy."

She leaned into the support of him, realized just how much she needed it. It was so perfect, to have his partnership back. It filled the hole inside her perfectly, chink to chink.

"I love you," she murmured, the truth of that ringing in her mind and heart, filling her up.

"C'mon, let's go find your son."

She smiled at him. He sounded and looked proud when he said that.

"First," she said. "I need to clean you up and change your face."

"Yes, that's true."

She slipped her wand out as Severus picked up his again and tucked it away. She magically cleaned him off, shortened his black hair, and changed his nose and chin.

"That should be sufficient. I'll miss your hair, though."

"So will I." He felt at the air that was where his black hair used to be. "I feel exposed."

She grinned. "Stop hunching your shoulders."

"Let's go."

They left the Shrieking Shack by the exit Voldemort had used and trooped back up to the castle together. Lenna got more nervous every step, and was pulling Severus along behind her as she half-ran in through a large hole that had been made in the Great Hall's wall.

Before she could find Rigel, she stopped and fell to her knees with a cry. Severus came up quietly behind. Lenna knelt beside Mrs. Weasley with her face in her hands, sobbing afresh. Severus gazed down at Fred Weasley's pale, frozen face and stood silently behind all the Weasleys gathered around, mourning. Molly was lying across Fred's chest, her body shaking, and Arthur was stroking her hair as tears cascaded down his cheeks. George was kneeling at his head, looking numb, tears shining on his face, his eyes bloodshot. Ginny, Bill, Fleur, Percy, Ron, and Hermione were also gathered near, their arms about each other. Harry was absent and Severus tried not to think about what he most likely currently experiencing in a Pensieve.

Severus waited. Lenna finally found her legs again and, after embracing Molly, who began to bawl on her shoulder, and hugging the younger Weasleys, she continued down the rows of dead laid out in the Great Hall.

Lupin and Tonks were lying next to one another nearby, pale and peaceful-looking. He had seen them earlier and knew that too would be an incredible blow to Lenna. He watched as she stood above them both, unmoving for a while. Eventually it felt like the right time to put his arms around her, but even when he did, she was very still and quiet when he pulled her against him. He could see the deep grieving in her eyes.

"Who else?" she croaked. "Who?"

She walked down the rows but did not see anyone else she recognized and looking at the dead was making her sick to her stomach. _All those mothers losing children. These children… Ah, God…_

"MUM! Thank God—_mum_!"

The shouting made them both look up. Rigel was on the raised platform where Madam Pomfrey and others were seeing to the wounded. She sucked in a breath, her chest releasing some of its weight, and did not hesitate to run to him.

"Cal?" she asked when she reached him—but even as she was saying it she spotted the close-by familiar mess of hair.

"He's okay, mum, just got his leg broken being flung off a balcony and got gashed up pretty good. Madam Pomfrey mended the bone in a jiff, but she says for him to stay off of it for a few hours because it's still tender."

Lenna took her brother's hand and squeezed it, looking down on him.

"Looks like you fought well, Cal."

"Looks like you fought better. My dumb little sister, always beating me in everything."

But she could not smile at his jokes, not now.

"Jodie saved me from the worst of it," he said.

"Jodie?"

"Yeah, Holly's mom. She's fantastic, the bloody woman. We stuck together with Christina through most of it. Rigel here kept himself and Miss Pollux completely unscathed, although Holly thinks he should let Pomfrey look at his head—"

"I'm fine," said Rigel.

"—probably because he's so good at everything she thinks there might be something wrong with him. I've been wanting his head checked out for a while now too—"

Lenna hadn't the patience for his good humor. "Abraxas? Scott? Ivy?" she asked her son.

Rigel motioned toward two other people lying further down on the platform.

"Brax is fine, Scott's a little woozy right now from Madam fixing him up from the holes a couple spikes bore in him, and Ivy's nursing what looks like wounds cause by a chain being tightened around her body. But they're all going to be okay."

"Did you see…" She trailed off and had to rally her strength. "Did you see Fred? And—and Remus and Tonks?"

Rigel nodded slowly and screwed up his face in an effort to fight back tears.

"I—I helped them carry Mr. Lupin's body here," he said. "I saw he and Tonks fall."

Lenna took him into her arms.

"And I was with the Weasleys for a while," he finished. "What…what's going to be done with Teddy, the baby?"

"I don't know," she murmured.

Rigel was eyeing Severus from over his mother's shoulder while she embraced him, and he asked, "Who's this guy?"

"A friend."

There was something about this eyes that was uncomfortably familiar and made Rigel take an immediate dislike to him.

"We've gotten betrayed by new friends before, mum," he said darkly.

"Trust me on this one."

Rigel frowned but didn't argue. He turned his back on the strange man and helped his uncle get more comfortable.

Those deaths were not to be the last of their woes. As the end of their allotted hour neared, people had moved the bodies to safer places and were fortifying themselves and the castle for battle once more.

Lenna stared across the grounds with dead eyes from broken windows in the front entryway. Severus came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"I don't think I can do this again, Sev."

"I will not allow anyone to harm you or Rigel."

"I can't stand the thought of having to bear leaving the lives of my loved ones up to chance again. The coward in me just wants to flee. But we have to see this through. Regulus died for this day, he cleared the way for it. If Harry can only…"

Her words trailed off abruptly as Voldemort's voice met their ears once again.

"Harry Potter is dead."

She would have fallen if Severus had not supported her weight.

"He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone.

"The battle is won. You have lost half your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you will be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."

Lenna trembled as she watched a long line of silhouettes moving toward the castle in the slowly fading darkness. She and Severus backed up against the far wall.

"It might not be him," Lenna mumbled. "Pollyjuice Potion…"

"It's him, Lenna," Severus told her very gently. "Voldemort made him into a Horcrux when he tried to kill him as a baby. Do you know what a—"

"Yes, Regulus destroyed the—I guess the first—or rather he had Kreacher do it, but—"

Severus stared at her, surprised. "That's why—?"

"Yes that's how, but—you're saying—Harry had to die because he was one?"

"Yes," murmured Snape. Lenna sagged against him.

"But…"

From the red light spilling out into the dark from the open oak doors, they, and the other people who had come out of the Great Hall to look, saw Harry's body in Hagrid's arms when he and Lord Voldemort stepped into its light. Severus kept Lenna back behind the moving crowd, and Rigel, Brax, and Holly remained with them.

"NO!" Professor McGonagall screamed. Bellatrix Lestrange laughed madly from the dark, delighting in McGonagall's despair. People filled out onto the front steps to face their vanquishers and see the truth of Harry's death for themselves.

"No!"

"_No_!"

"Harry! HARRY!"

The crowd of survivors took up the cause, screaming and yelling abuse at the Death Eaters until—

"SILENCE!" cried Voldemort, and there was a bang and a flash of bright light, and silence was forced upon them all. "It is over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs! You see? Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand me now, deluded ones? He was nothing, ever, but a boy who relied on others to sacrificed themselves for him!"

"He beat you!" yelled Ron, and the charm broke, and the defenders of Hogwarts were shouting and screaming again until a second, more powerful bang extinguished their voices once more.

"He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds," said Voldemort, and there was relish in his voice. "Killed, while trying to save himself—"

He broke off; Neville had broken free of the crowd and charged at Voldemort, and Voldemort had stopped and disarmed him with a flash of light. Neville hit the ground and Voldemort threw his wand aside, laughing.

"And who is this?" he said in his soft snake's hiss. "Who has volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those who continue to fight when the battle is lost?"

Bellatrix gave a delighted laugh.

"It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord! The boy who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, remember?"

"Ah yes, I remember," said Voldemort, looking down at Neville, who was struggling back to his feet, unarmed and unprotected, standing in the no-man's land between the survivors and the Death Eaters. "But you are a pureblood, aren't you, my brave boy?" Voldemort asked Neville, who stood facing him, his empty hands curled into fists.

"So what if I am?"

"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom."

"I'll join you when hell freezes over. _Dumbledore's Army_!"

There was an answering cheer from the crowd, whom Voldemort's Silencing Charm seemed unable to hold.

"Very well," said Voldemort in a silky voice. "If that is your choice, Longbottom, we revert to the original plan. On your head…be it."

Voldemort waved his wand and seconds later, out of one of the castle's shattered windows, something that looked like a misshapen bird flew through the half light and landed in Voldemort's hand. He shook the mildewed object by its pointed end and it dangled, empty and ragged: the Sorting Hat.

"There will be no more sorting at Hogwarts School," said Voldemort. "There will be no more Houses. The emblem, shield, and colors of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone. Won't they, Neville Longbottom?"

He pointed his wand at Neville, who grew rigid and still, then forced the hat onto Neville's head, so that it slipped down below his eyes. There were movements from the watching crowd, but as one, the Death Eaters raised their wands and held the fighters of Hogwarts at bay.

"Neville here is now going to demonstrate what happens to anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me," said Voldemort, and with a flick of his wand, he caused the Sorting Hat to burst into flames.

Screams split the dawn, and Neville was aflame, rooted to the spot, unable to move, and then many things happened at once.

There was an uproar from the distant boundary of the school as what sounded like hundreds of people came swarming over the out-of-sight walls and pelted toward the castle, uttering loud war cries; a giant came lumbering around the side of the castle and yelled "HAGGER!" His cry was answered by roars from Voldemort's giants and they ran at the one giant like bull elephants, making the earth quake. Then came hooves and the twangs of bows, and arrows were suddenly falling amongst the Death Eaters, who broke ranks, shouting their surprise. And in one swift, fluid motion, Neville Longbottom broke free of the Body-Bind Curse upon him; the flaming hat fell off of him and he draw from inside it a silver sword, with a glittering, rubied handle—

The slash of the silver blade could not be heard over the roar of the crowd or the sound of the clashing giants or of the stampeding centaurs, yet it drew every eye. With a single stroke, Neville sliced off Voldemort's great snake's head, which spun high into the air, gleaming in the light flooding from the entrance hall, and Voldemort's mouth was open in a scream of fury that no one could hear. The snake's body thudded to the ground at his feet.


	41. CHAPTER 41: FIERCE NEW SUN

Credits to J.K. Rowling, whose book Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I've taken most of this chapter directly from.

…

**CHAPTER 41: FIERCE NEW SUN  
><strong>

…

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it-always."  
>―Mahatma Gandhi<p>

…

"**H**ARRY!" Hagrid shouted. "HARRY—WHERE'S HARRY?"

Chaos reigned.

Severus pulled Lenna behind him into the Great Hall where the crowd was surging to get away from the madness. Buffeted by the crowd, Rigel managed to keep close to them, and Brax and Holly close to him. Holly's mother and sister found her in the sea of people and kept close, too, as people flooded in.

Voldemort was firing spells as he backed into the Great Hall, screaming instructions to his followers. And then there were more, even more people storming up the front steps and into the castle—what looked like the families of every student who had remained to fight along with the shopkeepers and owners of Hogsmeade.

The house-elves of Hogwarts swarmed into the entrance hall, screaming and waving carving knives and cleavers, and at their head, with the locket of Regulus Black bouncing on a chain on his chest, was Kreacher, his voice audible even above all this din: "Fight! Fight! Fight for my master, defender of house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!"

They were hacking and stabbing at the ankles and shins of Death Eaters, their tiny faces alive with malice, and everywhere Death Eaters were folding under the sheer weight of numbers.

Pressed against the back wall of the Great Hall, Lenna felt sincere hope in her heart for the first time that evening that they all really could win this. She watched her son launch himself with a roar back into the fighting, and knew he had to. She too, along with Severus and the rest of her crew against the wall, fired curses to down Death Eaters and protective spells to shield friends.

Voldemort, in the center of the Hall, was striking and smiting all within reach, and Bellatrix Lestrange was fifty yards away from him and dueling Hermione, Ginny, and Luna all at once. The Killing Curse missed Ginny by inches, and suddenly Molly Weasley was hurling herself through the crowd toward her, throwing off her cloak as she ran to free her arms.

"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" She reached them and shouted to the three girls, "OUT OF MY WAY!"

Molly Weasley's wand slashed and twirled, and Bella's smile faltered and became a snarl. Jets of light flew from both wands and the floor around the witches' feet became hot and cracked.

"No!" Molly cried as a few students ran forward, trying to come to her aid. "Get back! She is mine!"

People were flattening themselves against the four walls, getting out of the way of the two fights—Voldemort against Kingsley, McGonagall, and Slughorn and Bella against Molly. Rigel managed to get back to them again, and he squeezed in on Severus' other side.

"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" taunted Bella, as mad as her master, capering as Molly's curses danced around her. "When mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?"

"You—will—never—touch—our—children—again!" screamed Molly. Bella laughed. One of Molly's curses sailed beneath her outstretched arm and hit her squarely in the chest. Bellatrix's gloating smile froze, her face bulged slightly, and then she toppled, and Voldemort screamed as the crowd roared.

The Dark Lord's fury exploded with the force of a bomb—he sent his three opponents flying and directed his wand at Molly—

"_Protego_!" came a roar from nowhere. A huge Shield Charm expanded in the middle of the Hall, and everyone including Voldemort stared around for the source.

Suddenly, someone was pulling off an Invisibility Cloak, and there was Harry.

Yells of shock went up to the high ceiling, and cheers, and screams on every side of "Harry! _He's alive_!" but they stifled themselves almost at once. They were all afraid, and silence fell as Voldemort and Harry looked at each other and began to circle each other.

"I don't want anyone else to help," Harry said loudly, and in the total silence his voice carried. "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."

Voldemort hissed.

"Potter doesn't mean that," he said. "That isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter?"

"Nobody. There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good…"

Lenna saw Rigel's mouth form the word 'Horcruxes' with confusion. Like his mother had before Severus had told her the truth, he had thought Voldemort had only had one, and that his father had had Kreacher destroy it.

"One of us?" jeered Voldemort. His whole body was taut and his red eyes stared, a snake that was about to strike. "You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"

"Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me?" asked Harry. They were still moving sideways, both of them, in that perfect circle. "Accident, when I decided to fight in that graveyard? Accident, that I didn't defend myself tonight, and still survived, and returned to fight again?"

"_Accidents_!" screamed Voldemort, but still he did not strike. "Accident and chance and the fact that you crouched and sniveled behind the skirts of greater men and women, and permitted me to kill them for you!"

"You won't be killing anyone else tonight. "You won't be able to kill any of them every again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people—"

"But you did not!"

"—I meant to, and that's what did it. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them, you can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?"

"_You dare_—"

"Yes, I dare," said Harry. "I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle. I know lots of important things you don't. Want to hear some, before you make another big mistake?"

Voldemort did not speak, but prowled in a circle, seemingly mesmerized by the possibility that Harry might indeed know a final secret.

"Is it love again?" said Voldemort, his snake's face jeering. "Dumbledore's favorite solution, _love_, which he claimed conquered death, though love did not stop him falling from the tower and breaking like an old waxwork? _Love_, which did not prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter—and nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time and take my curse. So what will stop you dying now when I strike?"

"Just one thing."

"If it is not love that will save you this time, you must believe that you have magic that I do not, or else a weapon more powerful than mine?"

"I believe both."

Shock flitted across Voldemort's face, though it was instantly dispelled, and he began to laugh. It was humorless and insane, and it echoed around the Hall.

"You think _you_ know more magic than I do? Than _I_, than Lord Voldemort, who has performed magic that Dumbledore himself never dreamed of?"

"Oh, he dreamed of it, but he knew more than you, knew enough not to do what you've done."

"You mean he was weak!" screamed Voldemort. "Too weak to dare, too weak to take what might have been his, what will be mine!"

"No, he was cleverer than you," said Harry. "A better wizard, a better man."

"I brought about the death of Albus Dumbledore!"

"You thought you did," said Harry, "but you were wrong."

For the first time the watching crowd stirred as the hundreds of people around the walls drew breath.

"_Dumbledore is dead_! His body decays in the marble tomb in the grounds of this castle, I have seen it, Potter, and he will not return!"

"Yes, Dumbledore is dead," said Harry calmly, "but you didn't have him killed. He chose his own manner of dying, chose it months before he died, arranged the whole thing with the man you thought was your servant."

"What childish dream is this?" said Voldemort. Still he did not strike and his eyes did not waver from Harry's.

"Severus Snape wasn't yours," said Harry. "Snape was Dumbledore's, Dumbledore's from the moment you started hunting down my mother. And you never realized it, because of the thing you can't understand."

Lenna reached down to hold Severus' hand and Rigel saw the motion. He stared up at Severus' altered face, and his mouth fell open slightly as understanding and recognition dawned. Severus glanced at him a moment and then returned his eyes to Harry and Voldemort, but he brought his arm up behind the son of his old friend and the son of his lover and put it around him protectively, his hand on Rigel's shoulder. Rigel stared up at him, eyes shiny with disbelief and wonder.

"You never saw Snape cast a Patronus, did you, Riddle?"

Voldemort did not answer. The two continued to circle each other liked wolves about to tear each other apart.

"Snape's Patronus was a doe," said Harry, "the same as my mother's because he loved her for nearly all of his life, from the time when they were children. You should have realized. He asked you to spare her life, didn't he?"

"He desired her, that was all," Voldemort spat. "But when she had gone, he agreed that there were other women, and of purer blood, worthier of him—"

"Of course he told you that, but he was Dumbledore's spy from the moment you threatened her, and he's been working against you ever since! Dumbledore was already dying when Snape finished him!"

"It matters not!" shrieked Voldemort, who had followed every word with rapt attention, but now let out a cackle of laughter. "It matters not whether Snape was mine or Dumbledore's, or what petty obstacles they tried to put in my path! I crushed them as I crushed your mother, Snape supposed great love! Oh, but it all makes sense, Potter, in ways that you do not understand!

"Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me! He intended that Snape should be the true master of the wand! But I got there ahead of you, little boy—I reached the wand before you could get your hands on it, I understood the truth before you caught up. I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine!"

Rigel looked up at the man he thought was Severus in disguise in confusion. The man was smirking slightly and gave Rigel's shoulder a reassuring rub with his thumb. Rigel had no idea what to think.

"Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!"

"Yeah, it did," said Harry. "You're right. But before to try to kill me, I'd advise you to think about what you've done… Think, and try for some remorse, Riddle…"

"What is this?"

Of all the things that Harry had said to him, beyond any revelation or taunt, nothing had shocked Voldemort like this seemed to.

"It's your one last chance," said Harry, "it's all you've got left. I've seen what you'll be otherwise… Be a man…try…try for some remorse…"

"You dare—?"

"Yes, I dare. Because Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle. The wand still isn't working properly for you because you murdered the wrong person. Severus Snape was never the true master of the Elder Wand. He never defeated Dumbledore."

"He killed—"

"Aren't you listening? Snape never beat Dumbledore! Dumbledore's death was planned between them! Dumbledore intended to die undefeated, the wand's last true master!"

"But then, Potter, Dumbledore as good as gave me the wand! I stole the wand from its last master's tomb! I removed it against its last master's wishes! Its power is mine!"

"You still don't get it, Riddle, do you? Possessing the wand isn't enough! Holding it, using it, doesn't make it really yours! Didn't you listen to Olivander? The wand chooses the wizard… The Elder Wand recognized a new master before Dumbledore died, someone who never even laid a hand on it. The new master removed the wand from Dumbledore against his will, never realizing exactly what he had done, or that the world's most dangerous wand had given him its allegiance…"

Voldemort's chest rose and fell rapidly; a curse was coming.

"The true master of the wand was Draco Malfoy."

Blank shock showed in Voldemort's face for a moment, but then it was gone.

"But what does it matter?" he said softly. "Even if you are right, Potter, it makes no difference to you and me. You no longer have the phoenix wand: we duel on skill alone…and after I have killed you, I can attend to Draco Malfoy…"

"But you're too late," said Harry. "You've missed your chance. I overpowered Draco weeks ago. I took this wand from him." Harry twitched the hawthorn wand. "So it all comes down to this, doesn't it?" whispered Harry. "Does the wand in your hand know that its last master was disarmed? Because if it does…I am the true master of the Elder Wand."

A red-gold glow burst suddenly across the enchanted sky above them as an edge of dazzling sun appeared over the sill of the nearest window. The light hit both of their faces at the same time. Both of them yelled their best hope to the heavens, pointing their wands:

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

"_Expelliarmus!_"

The bang was like a cannon blast, and the golden flames that erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Voldemort's green jet met Harry's red one, the Elder Wand flew high into the air, spinning across the enchanted ceiling, and Harry caught it in his free hand as Lord Voldemort fell backward, arms splayed, the slit pupils in his red eyes rolling upwards.

He hit the floor with a mundane finality. He was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse, and Harry stood with two wands in this hands, staring down at his enemy's shell.

There was one shivering second of silence, the shock of the moment suspended: and then the tumult broke as screams and cheers and roars of watchers rent the air while the fierce new sun dazzled the windows.


	42. CHAPTER 42: MENDING

**Chapter 42: Mending**

…

"A bridge of silver wings stretches from the dead ashes of an unforgiving nightmare to the jeweled vision of a life started anew."  
>―Aberjhani, <em>The River of Winged Dreams<em>

…

**R**igel and his mother joined in with the screaming. It felt so bloody good to get everything out. They screamed out their elation and their grief into the tumult. Lenna threw her arms around Severus and kissed him. Rigel stared, his eyes enormous.

"Is that—? Are you Professor Snape?!" he asking him, having to yell it in the din.

Lenna pulled away from her lover, a bit pink, and nodded.

"I'm glad you're not dead!" Rigel yelled toward him, grinning.

"I—" Severus barely got out, before Rigel had jumped to throw his arms around his neck. Severus caught the boy and held him up in his arms for a few seconds. When he let him down, his eyes were moist.

"I wanna hug Harry!" Rigel yelled to them. "Carry on with the kissing!"

He turned and swam, bouncing up and down and yelling, into the sea of people swarming Harry. Lenna laughed breathlessly before Severus' mouth was on hers again. She locked her arms around him and ignored the rest of the world.

When everything had died down a little bit, they went up to the platform to find Cal and were surprised at who was standing beside him.

"Grace!" Lenna exclaimed. "When did you get here?"

"With the second wave," replied her sister-in-law. "News spread out to every corner, and my sisters of all people had heard that they needed help fighting, so I left Walter with them and came here. I transformed once I got on the grounds and flew in a window and found Cal." She blinked rapidly, looking at Severus, and Lenna saw that the transfigurations of his face were all wearing off. He was himself again and he shuffled uncomfortably.

"Should you change me back?" he asked her. He obviously didn't want to be noticed by anyone.

She shook her head and said gently, "No, Sev. You deserve to be seen and thanked. People shouldn't go home thinking you're dead."

Cal was sitting in a chair with his tender leg set gingerly on a cushion and he stuck his arm out for Severus to shake. "Well, mister triple agent, it's good to see you again. Especially since you're the only bloke my sister's actually seemed to care about since Rigel's dad."

"Cal," Lenna chided.

Severus smiled a little. "Same with me. But with someone else, of course. Although Regulus _was_ dashing."

They all laughed at the humor from such an unexpected source; it relieved tension.

"I didn't think you could be funny, Sev," Lenna said teasingly.

"Don't get used to it."

They all felt high, high on victory and relief.

Jodie, Holly's mom, joined them up on the platform along with Christina, Holly, and Rigel. Brax and Scott could be seen still jumping about and whooping down on the main floor of the Hall.

"Thought Voldemort said he killed you," Jodie immediately said to Severus. "Funny how he couldn't kill anybody there in the end. Both you and the Potter boy came back from the dead. Well, I understand we're to be thanking you for all your varying deceits." She shook his hand, businesslike.

"Mum, can we go to Grimmauld after, mum? Can we take everybody there and hang out?" Rigel asked, excitedly. There were so many opportunities for joy newly-opened.

"Maybe today," she murmured. "But in a few days there are going to be funerals, Ri."

He face fell. "I know…but we can get everyone together tonight, right? And all be together sharing stories? I want it so bad." He squirmed, looking for a moment younger than he was. Lenna chuckled.

"Sure. Tell everyone you want to join us at Grimmauld tonight. I might need a nap before then, though."

"Brilliant! Okay—I'm gonna go be with people some more, mum, but—"

"Go," she laughed. He grinned, turned, and disappeared again.

Lenna wanted to celebrate too, but in a quieter way. She was drained, and her brain was tired of loud noise. After about twenty minutes more of being with people and hugging friends, she took Severus' hand and he followed after her out of the Great Hall.

He didn't ask where they were going and she liked that. She found an abandoned classroom, emptied of all its desks, and transfigured one of the chairs into a large mattress. Severus locked the door behind them and climbed on top of Lenna who had lain down on it.

"Make love to me," she said softly.

"For the rest of my life," he murmured back. He kissed her deeply; she speared her tongue into his mouth and felt him grow hard against her body. He kissed her neck, sucked, bit just a little and closed his eyes to listen to her perfect moans of desire.

She wiggled out of her dusty, ripped clothes and he sat up on top of her to take off this first layer as well. He groaned, gazing at the body she was uncovering and then leaned down again to kiss down her throat and between her breasts while the fingers of one of his hands gently massaged a nipple.

She sighed in short, cut sighs, and her hips hitched under her, creating a rhythm that she wasn't even consciously in charge of. The rhythm made Severus throb with want of her. They both pulled their pants and underwear off. He kissed down her chest and belly and kissed the nub between her legs where she was wet—she trembled and gasped. She kissed the fresh scars on his neck.

"Sev?" she breathed.

"Yeah?"

"Sev, it's over."

He gazed down at her eyes which were full of wonder. There was a sweet, dazed smile on her face.

"It's really, finally over," she breathed again. It was just truly, now, in this moment, that it was hitting her and she realized the shadow that had darkened her life and constantly threatened her happiness for a very, very long time, had finally been overcome.

"It's over," he confirmed softly, and guided himself into her body. She groaned deeply and he closed his eyes, groaning also at the exquisite pleasure of that first entrance.

He held still for a moment, quivering, her body pulsing around his. She felt so good…_ah, Merlin…_

Her hips rocked and he moved against them. They could not keep it slow. Impatiently, desperately, they both cried out as their bodies locked together roughly, again and again. Lenna chased her pleasure, gazing up into his eyes, and every movement she made was what he wanted. Her pleasure was his, and only when she found orgasm did she close her eyes. Her open mouth opened wider and he felt her body squeeze his tightly, shuddering. She relaxed slightly and sighed with delicious pleasure; her movements had only stopped for a moment, and then she was loving him again.

"Lenna," he groaned. "Ah, Len…"

He became a bit deaf to sound as he felt his pleasure building and he plunged into her body, hard and fast.

She cried out breathlessly, moaning, closing her eyes, her fists curling, and kept himself back until he felt her mounting to release and then the tightness of her orgasm squeezed him deliciously and he came.

He collapsed on top of her, swept by the exertion and the pleasure, and did not move from her. Lenna wrapped her arms around his warm body and kept his softening manhood cradled inside of hers. She closed her eyes and breathed. The sex had soothed her aching head and muscles, but it also had made her sleepy.

They felt asleep together like that; his head right beside hers and snoring very softly and still inside her.

He woke up a short while later and rolled off of her. She woke and reached for him sleepily, curling up beside him. They slept on.

Lenna woke when a group of people talking passed by the door of the room they were in. She glanced at her watch and then saw it was still broken. She hunted for her wand in her discarded clothes and mended it, though she knew the time it now kept was probably far off.

"Sev," she murmured, touching his arm. "Wake up, love."

"Hm?" he lifted his head and blinked blearily at her. "Oh."

"My watch is broken and we've probably been asleep for a while." She began to get her clothes back on.

"Right." He also pulled on his clothes. When they finally made an appearance again, they saw that though it was a few hours later, most people were still in Hogwarts, doing their part to clean up and heal the school, spending time with old acquaintances, or commiserating with friends.

"Ooh, do you want to help fix the castle up? I supposed we should probably find Rigel first, though." She looked around her. "It's a big castle. Perhaps I should send my Patronus…"

"Miss Lenna!"

She turned and Kreacher threw himself around her legs.

"Hello, Kreacher," she said fondly. "You were very brave in the fighting, leading the house-elves like you did."

"For brave Master Regulus!" he crowed. She smiled.

"Kreacher, you remember Severus Snape? A friend of Regulus'?"

Kreacher gave him a bow. "Kreacher does. Kreacher is pleased to meet Mr. Severus Snape again."

"Have you seen Rigel?"

"Yes!" He bounced from little foot to little foot. "Kreacher is knowing. Master Rigel was helping the boy who cut the head from the very large snake put plants that were used in the fighting back in their greenhouses, and before that he was helping un-make the holes in the walls. But right now Kreacher is knowing that he is sleeping with his friends in their tall tower."

"Thank you. Do you know my brother at all, Kreacher?"

"No, Kreacher does not know Miss Lenna's brother."

"Well, let's see if we can find him."

She went into the Great Hall, seeing on her way that people had mended the entry hall, the front doors, the marble staircase, and the walls, floor, and balconies. She imagined they were probably still working on other parts of the castle, but their work was going well.

The House tables were back in the Hall and it had been cleaned of debris, damage, and bloodstains. Madam Pomfrey had the worst of her patients still up on conjured beds on the teacher's platform, a cart with medicinal potions and materials beside her. Cal and Grace weren't there anymore.

The only person Lenna knew in the Great Hall was Arthur Weasley; he was talking to some people she didn't know. She approached and waited to talk to him and when he was free she gave him a warm hug. She had already given him and his entire family her condolences, but hugs still helped.

"Where is everyone?" she asked him.

"Let's see. Kingsley has been named temporary Minister of Magic, the rest of my—my family is back at home with each other… Harry, Ron, and Hermione are getting some sleep in the dorms. Your son, I think, is getting some sleep, too. Hagrid's with that giant of his, fixing up the torn up grounds with some others, and I think your brother and the blonde woman with him were helping Minerva get the desks back in their classrooms and continue to restore the western wing."

"Thank you. When are the services for Fred going to be held?"

He sighed heavily. "In a few days. Everything is so…"

"You can hand the organization of it over to someone else, Arthur," she said gently. "You and Molly have already done so much…"

He smiled at her weakly; it didn't reach his sorrowful eyes. "Our relatives are helping."

"Good, I'm glad. Apparently Rigel is trying to get people over to Grimmauld to be together today and tonight, if any of you would like to come, but I understand completely if your family just wants to be alone now."

"Thank you, Lenna. I'll see. I don't think Molly will be up for company, though, and the kids will probably stay with her."

"Of course." She clasped his hand in consolation.

She, Severus, and Kreacher turned and left the Great Hall.

"Well, I don't know where my brother is right now, Kreacher, but I'll introduce you to him eventually. Severus and I are going to go help mend the damage to the school. You can go back to whatever you were doing."

Kreacher nodded and padded off. She and Severus began meandering around the school. Lenna mended paintings, most of which had contained occupants that were sniffling and calling for help from their temporary shelter in other paintings. Severus proved very good at mending the walls and floors, something Lenna was less talented at, so she left that to him. She un-broke lights and torch fixtures, pleased to watch the glass or stone fly together and become one piece again. The worst was the blood stains. Sometimes it was more than blood. She cleaned it all up with her wand, but it still made her feel dirty and a little sick. In the middle of fighting, blood and gore had been natural, not something to even waste thought on. But now, after everything was over and she had seen all the bodies of students and Death Eaters alike, it was sickening to see blood.

"This year's been horrible," Severus said in a low voice as they went. "I'm used to being hated, but…not by you and Rigel. Somehow it was even harder with him. Even though I knew it had hurt you and continued to hurt you just bas badly, I don't know, you're an adult, and stronger and wiser, but with him, he was just a kid—a kid who had lost his dad and then Dumbledore, and I had wanted to be…" He trailed off and glanced at Lenna a little sheepishly. "And so it was worse, hurting Rigel when I wanted to protect him, keep him from going through more loss."

Lenna intertwined her fingers in his, warmth and love humming through her.

"We're family now," she said. "And now, there's nothing threatening the happiness of any of us." She squeezed his hand. "I don't think there's anything you've done that needs forgiveness. And I don't think Rigel thinks so, either. He—he loves you, Sev. It was just as bad for him because we both loved you. He saw his father in you, and more importantly he saw _you_. Your devotion and your hidden kindness and caring. He wanted you to be the one with me just as much as I wanted it."

"When he hugged me this morning, I—I didn't want to put him down. I've never had much of a family. And I…" He didn't seem to be able to get the words out. Lenna pressed herself into his arms and he knew he didn't have to try to. With her…with her it was so easy to allow everything inside him to show. He could talk to her more easily than anyone he'd ever known—even with Lily he he'd had to keep things back—and it felt so good… So freeing. It was having a heart partner after so long alone. She knew him and what was more was she loved what she knew and found. She accepted him and respected him without reservation, which few people in Severus' life had done.

Lenna, pressed against his firm chest and feeling the security of his arms around her, felt much the same. She had been more blessed than him in her family, friends, and the tasks life had demanded of her, but she had still been alone.

They continued to walk through the castle, mending what was broken and talking, swapping stories from the past year and some stories much older.

When they finally came upon Cal, Grace, Holly, Christine, and Jodie, they were all taking a break from working spells and all fairly ready to head home.

"Let's all go wake up Rigel, shall we?" she suggested. Her brother yawned hugely, draped an arm over Grace's shoulders and nodded. Holly wished to say goodbye to Rigel so she and Jodie and her sister came with them. Lenna, Cal, Holly, Christina, and Jodie had become good friends through what they had experienced together, and Len and Jodie in particular had taken to each other even before the battle, and now, as they climbed to Ravenclaw Tower, they discussed possibilities for their families getting together again in the future.

"What fills a room but takes up no space?" asked the door knocker of the Ravenclaw Tower sweetly. Lenna hadn't been asked a question by it in a long time and she rather relished giving the answer.

"Light."

"A good answer," replied the knocker brightly, and the door swung in to admit them all.

The room was, in fact, filled with light. Its huge, arched windows had a gorgeous view of the surrounding mountains and as they moved through the common room, Lenna turned in a circle to gaze at the familiar, beautiful, circular room.

They found the boys snoring in their beds. Lenna hated waking the poor thing, but she at least had the consolation that he could go home and sleep. Holly did the honors; she walked quietly up to him and kissed him on the lips lightly.

He woke up and blinked rapidly, seeing all of them crowded in the dorm room. He smiled.

"I was thinking it was about time we head home, Ri," Lenna said.

"What about Grimmauld? Is Harry going to come?"

"It's his house, Ri," she reminded with a chuckle. "I think he has to invite _you_."

Rigel laughed. "He said it was my house as much as his. The two Black brothers were our dads. Sort of. That makes him and I like cousins."

"Hey cousin of Harry Potter," came Scott's throaty voice, "I'm trying to sleep in here." There was a smile in his voice. Brax laughed from another bed and rolled over.

"Okay, okay, I'll take the company elsewhere. Send me owls or Patronuses or whatever wherever if you wanna hang out." He got out of bed and followed everyone back down out of the dorm.

"So what _is_ the plan?" he asked Lenna. "Are we going home or to Grimmauld?"

"Well, if you want to get people together tonight, I suggest we all get a little more sleep, and you should send Harry a message about it, along with whoever else you want to invite. And I should probably go to Grimmauld a little early and clean that place up a bit."

"We should bring Kreacher," Rigel added, nodding. "But sleep first, yeah, sleep is good." He smiled a bit goofily at his uncle and aunt. "Hi there, Aunt Grace."

"Hi honey."

"I think this ceiling needs a few more stars," Lenna murmured, looking up at the domed ceiling with its painted stars. She slipped her wand out and flicked it twice. Two new painted stars bloomed on the ceiling. In small but legible gold script along one edge of each were _Rigel Black_ and _Holly Pollux_.

"Whoa," Rigel said. Holly was beaming.

"I think you may have just started a tradition, Mrs. Albeney," Holly said, staring up at her star, tucked close to Rigel's. "Thank you. They're beautiful."

"No more than you, little duck," Lenna replied affectionately. Holly and Rigel exchanged a look, grinning.

"Alright, let's blow this popsicle stand," Rigel announced, and led them out of the Tower.

"'Popsicle stand'?" Jodie asked her older daughter.

"Don't look at me," replied Christine, shaking her head.

They went to the edge of the grounds to Disapparate, but then Hogsmeade was right there and they all ended up each having a butterbeer together before they dispersed.

Holly sat with Rigel at the bar, his hand around one of hers on the bar top.

"Think we'll have to complete the term?" Holly asked him.

"For two more weeks? Nah, I doubt it."

"You know, though, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione come back to finish their seventh year, they'll end up graduating with us."

Rigel grinned. "That's funny. But something tells me Harry might not do that. Not when there are still Death Eaters out there to coral."

"Bet Hermione will."

Rigel laughed. "'Course." He squeezed her hand. "Can I see you soon?"

She nodded. "You're welcome at my house any time this summer."

"As you are to mine." He leaned in to kiss her. She tasted like butterbeer.


	43. CHAPTER 43: GRIMMAULD, AFTER

A/N: Sorry about the American references in this chapter—and for the ones I've probably put in without realizing it in previous chaps. I know people in the UK probably don't know what tater tots or Hogan's Heroes are, but I just can't keep it out sometimes. Y'know how it is. Peace&love

…

**CHAPTER 43: GRIMMAULD, AFTER  
><strong>

…

"The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places. But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater."  
>―J.R.R. Tolkien, <em>The Lord of the Rings<em>

…

**L**enna opened the apartment door and she, Rigel, and Severus walked in. Rigel lit some lights with a flick of his wand.

"That's underage magic outside of Hogwarts, Rigel," Severus commented mildly.

"Oops."

"Kingsley's the Minister currently, so I think you'll be alright."

"Brilliant!"

"Don't encourage him, Sev."

Dinah came in, mewing in hello, and sniffed the many strange and disturbing smells on the shoes they left at the door. Sweat—and blood. Of many different people. Dinah backed from the shoes and went to Lenna. She weaved against her legs, mewing in concern.

As Lenna picked her up, Rigel looked around him and stated, "It's weird to be home!" He turned to look at them. "Everything's different now."

"Isn't it wonderful?" Lenna sighed happily, dropping into one of her armchairs.

"No," Rigel replied immediately to her surprise. He was smiling but shaking his head. "I feel purposeless now. I don't like it."

Lenna waved her hand. "Well, there are plenty more stray Death Eaters running about the country to capture, darling. Have at them."

"You're not serious."

"Oh, please. You just fought countless numbers of the witless thugs mere hours ago and I can't even see a scratch. By all means, continue to get it out of your system if you feel the need. I'm perfectly serious, Rigel, would you stop looking at me like that?"

"Alright, lady, what have you done with my mother? Cough her up or I'll sick my cat on you!"

Dinah was purring in Lenna's lap which made the threat ridiculously comical. She giggled and replied, "Let me know how that goes."

"Christ, I'm hungry," her son suddenly realized. "Mum, can we make, like, a feast?"

Lenna's eyes went to the ceiling and she sighed. "I just sat down, Rigel. Give me a bit."

"_I'll_ make it. Dinah will help."

"You're giving my cat delusions of grandeur. First she can attack and now she can cook."

Rigel laughed. "Don't listen to her, Dinah, you're an extremely talented cat."

Dinah was becoming quite confused, hearing her name so much. What did they want of her?

She mewed in question and everyone laughed. Lenna scratched her lovingly, so she assumed everything was okay.

"Make some biscuits, Ri. Or just hot, fresh bread. That sounds so good right now."

"Alright," he said, grinning, but Kingsley's gonna have to deal with all the—"

Lenna's limbs flailed as she shot off the armchair. Dinah had to leap clear. "Ah! Stop! Don't do any more magic!"

"I'll help him out," Severus said, standing.

"You don't know the first thing about cooking, Sev."

He raised his eyebrows at her, trying to look arch, but his smirk undid it. "I could be an _excellent_ chief for all you know!"

She giggled.

"Alright," she said. "We'll all make a feast and we'll all eat it and then we'll all go to bed. Sound good? Better set alarms or we'll sleep right through." Rigel and Severus mostly got out of her way as she sent things flying, mixing, pouring, and baking without even going in an oven.

In about fifteen minutes, she had fresh-baked bread seasoned with rosemary, chicken parmesan, mashes potatoes mixed with cheese and garlic, an enormous salad, and the minute she set the last dish—a toffee pudding—on the table, all three of them chowed down.

"So, are you staying here, Professor?" Rigel asked him after swallowing a mouthful of potatoes. He had seen his mother and Professor Snape making loving eyes at each other almost every time they looked up and it made him grin. "Like, moving in?"

Severus chewed and considered it for a moment. "Would you like that or would you rather I didn't?"

"If you don't, I'll probably set your house on fire so you'll have to," was his courteous reply.

Severus chuckled. "We'll see how things go. Probably mostly, yes, I'll be here."

"Good." He dug into his chicken parmesan again.

"Remember to have some salad too," Lenna reminded him.

He made a face but pulled the salad serving bowl toward him.

By the toffee pudding, his eyelids were drooping.

"Can you finish this, mum? I'm full and I wanna go to bed."

Lenna nodded and he handed her his plate.

"I'll set an alarm," he said and went to his bedroom.

Lenna set the kitchen cleaning itself and putting things away while she ate up Rigel's pudding. Her spell took from Severus the fork he had been spinning absently in his fingers and she grinned.

"Enough pudding," he said, somehow both gruff and tender at the same time. He stood, came around the table, and pulled Lenna up to kiss her. She laughed a little under her breath as she left the pudding on the table, forgotten, and jumped a little to allow him to take her up into his arms, her legs wrapped around his waist. He carried her like that to her bedroom and they fell onto the bad together. A few minutes of tired, feeble kissing later, they were both snuggled in her bed together, asleep.

…

They woke to Rigel calling into her room, "Up, tater tots! Time to party!"

Severus groaned something that got lost in the pillow. Whatever it was, Lenna felt like she agreed. When neither of them got up within ten minutes, Rigel came in.

"Up up up up up!"

"Yes, Sergeant Schultz," Lenna sighed and swung her legs out of bed. She was only wearing her cami and underwear. Severus too sat up, rubbing his eyes in his undershirt and pants.

"Okay," he said.

"I wanna change clothes, Ri."

"Okay, but hurry up, lady," he said as he left.

Lenna pulled off the underclothes she'd been wearing and browsed naked through her closet. Severus watched her, stirring at the sight. How was she so beautiful?

She pulled out some jeans and a green T-shirt. Severus pulled on his clothes but left his outer robe on her bed; the day was likely warm. They both picked up their wands and then went out into the apartment's main rooms. Rigel was waiting in a black T-shirt and his school uniform pants, slightly ripped and bloodstained from battle.

"Do you want me to clean up your pants?" Lenna asked. He shook his head.

"No. I like them this way. Mum, can we bring Dinah so she can see Crookshanks again?"

"Sure."

Rigel scooped up their cat. Lenna noticed he was also carrying his enchanted wooden box.

"What's the box for?"

"I put a bunch of games in it in case people wanna play. Cards, chess, game boards, my collapsible mini Quidditch team, some of the leftover transfiguration candies from Wizard Wheezes, stuff like that. I put your camera in here, too."

Lenna nodded appreciatively and they left the apartment together. Lenna locked it magically behind them and then took both of her guys' hands. She Apparated them to the stoop of Grimmauld. Lenna pushed open the door.

"Lenna, there's a curse Mad Eye left for me in the hall, let me deal with it. I didn't stop to get rid of it last time." He stepped slowly forward into the entryway and suddenly the dust on the floor rose and coalesced into a ghastly version of Albus Dumbledore. From Rigel's arms, Dinah hissed. The dust demon raised a hand and rasped, "Severus Snape?"

Rigel took a small step back but Severus moved forward and began murmuring counter-enchantments, his wand twitching about. The Dumbledore' dust figure moved menacingly closer to him, rasping. But eventually Severus found the correct combination of counters and the figure and the dust that made it up faded into nothingness with a sigh.

"Sorry about that," he muttered.

A pitter-patter of bony feet met their ears.

"Kreacher?" Lenna called.

Kreacher appeared around the corner, coming down the hallways with a smile.

"Miss Lenna! Master Harry sent Kreacher back and told Kreacher you would be coming."

"We'll help you clean up before guests start arriving," Lenna told him. "The objective is warmth and comfort." As she said so, she pointed her wand at the chandelier hanging from the hall ceiling and lit it, then lit the gas lamps on the walls.

"Yes, Miss Lenna. I'm cleaning the kitchen, Miss Lenna." He pitter-patted off. Severus took the dining room and its china cabinet that was no doubt full of spiders again. Lenna worked on the entry hall and the staircase while Rigel looked on, unable to do any magic.

"Mum, can you say the spells aloud so I can learn some?" he asked. She nodded and did so.

"We have to get rid of these elf heads," Lenna said firmly. "I'm going to talk to Harry about it. It's disgusting and degrading."

"I'm sure he'll have them gotten rid of. Kreacher will probably pitch a fit, though. His family's up there."

"No, his family is Harry and you and me. Not shrunken heads."

Rigel watched in fascination as his mother murmured strings of spells and worked true magic upon the upper floor of the house. She left the spaces in her wake clean and full of light.

"I like the pictures and paintings on the wall," Rigel commented as they made their way through the upstairs. "They're interesting." He was looking at a handsome painting of his father's three cousins, Bella, Narcissa, and Andromeda.

Lenna nodded in agreement. "I like that photograph of the Dark Mark in the sky that's over there. I don't really know why."

Rigel looked at it. "Yeah. It gives this place a feel, you know? I want it to keep its history. It's cool."

She laughed as little and worked on the bathroom. When she was done, the old tiles and porcelain were shining, the light fixture lit, the mirror cleared of blemishes, and the towels clean and fluffy.

After Lenna cleaned and fluffed Regulus' old, enormous bed, Rigel immediately took a flying leap and landed on it with a whoop. He hugged the thick quilt to him.

"_Dad_," he sighed. He sat up. "Mum, are you going to marry Severus?"

Lenna made a disgruntled noise and the curtains she had been dusting magically suddenly turned stark white. Lenna changed them back to green and replied, "I have no idea, Ri."

"What d'you mean, you have no idea?"

"Can we just not push it yet?"

"_Fine_." He smirked. "I still can't believe all that he did. He's as much a hero as Harry is."

"Yes, he is."

"Are we going to have food and drinks?" Rigel asked, bouncing up and down. "Should we get Butterbeer from Hogsmeade?"

"How do you still have so much energy?"

"I don't know, I'm just excited about everything." He jumped off the bed and began gazing at his dad's old posters and photographs in the room while his mother made everything good as new. "I think Harry'll come. I told him it would be quiet and small and all of us together."

"You can send Kreacher with some money to go buy butterbeer if you'd like," suggested Lenna.

"Yeah, I'll do that!" He bounded out of the room.

When Lenna was finished restoring the upstairs floor, she went back down and found that Severus and Kreacher had made the main floor good as new and the three were sitting at the kitchen table with butterbeers, even Kreacher had a cup of it for himself. Severus handed her a cold bottle and she took it gratefully.

"Yum."

"Miss Lenna," Kreacher began, "Kreacher has snack mix ready for the guests with nuts and caramel popcorn and also little sandwiches are keeping cold and cookies and chocolate treats are baking."

"That's great, Kreacher," she said warmly. "Thank you."

Kreacher bowed happily. "Kreacher is very happy to please Miss Lenna and Master Rigel Black and Mr. Severus Snape." His pleasure made Lenna smile. She checked her watch.

"I'm going to go pick up Cal, Grace and Walter in a bit."

"How much more school do Erin and Connie have?" Rigel asked her.

"About two weeks." She went into the living room and he and Severus followed. She took a seat in an armchair, Severus on a couch across from her, and Rigel next to him.

"Rigel," Severus said quietly as he sat, "I want to formally apologize for everything you've had to deal with this year, especially from me. The position I had been in didn't allow me to play around with the façade—I had to live it—or else risk the Dark Lord suspicion at best, retribution at worst."

"I understand, Professor," said Rigel. "I really do. My father had to pretend to be completely someone he wasn't too, for similar reasons."

"You were brave," he told him. "I was proud of you. Although I couldn't show it."

Rigel gazed at him, grateful for the praise. Severus wasn't the kind of man to praise anyone unless it was due.

"Thank you, Professor. I apologize for what I said to you…"

Severus laughed. "Don't. I'm quite glad you said what you did. It was deftly done."

Rigel grinned. "It was rather, wasn't it?" Severus smiled and rolled his eyes a little.

"Professor, Harry's very lucky to have had you looking out for him his whole life."

Severus' smile flattened into a sort of grimace. "I doubt he feels the same."

"He didn't know before, but now he does." He grinned. "Now everybody knows. You're going to have to get used to being liked, Professor."

Severus sat back against the couch with a sort of huff and Rigel and Lenna sniggered.

"I suppose if you decide you really don't like it, you can just lop George's other ear off," Rigel suggested.

Severus grimaced. "I didn't mean to do that, you know. He flew into my curse."

"Well, that's good to hear. You might want to let him know that."

Severus did not look happy. "I _hate_ apologizing."

Rigel laughed. Dinah padded in from exploring the house and leapt lightly onto Lenna's lap. Lenna picked her up and stood to sit in close to Severus; she wasn't content to remain long with her body not touching his. Their reunion was still too fresh and sweet to be able to keep a distance. Severus put his arm around her, glad she'd come closer as well. Having her was a comfort and a bliss that he was still a bit high on.

"I should go grab Grace and the boys," said Lenna, standing from the couch.

Kreacher was shuffling out to them with a plate of chocolate truffles and Lenna nabbed one before going outside. She'd never Apparated mid-chew before, and didn't really want to try it, so she finished her truffle before flying away through space to the edge of Cal and Grace's backyard where there would be less possible neighbor eyes. She crossed the back patio and let herself in. The three were just finishing up a late dinner.

"Aunt Lenna!" Walter cried from the kitchen where he had been watching his mother clean dishes magically. He had a plate and a towel in his hand Grace had given him to dry by hand. "The bad wizard is gone!"

Lenna ran at him laughing, and spun him around in her arms.

"Gone foreverrr! And you're going to get to meet a lot of friends of mine tonight. They're Rigel's friends, too."

"Let's go _now_, come on, mummy!"

"No rush, Walterpants. The only people that are there yet are Rigel and Mr.—er, my boyfriend."

"You have a boyfriend?" Walter's eyes were big. "Is it that scary man who came to Christmas?"

Lenna gave him a stern look as Cal laughed uproariously from the table.

"He's not scary," she said.

"_I_ think he's scary."

"_Rigel_ doesn't think he's scary. He likes him a lot. Is Rigel braver than you, then?"

"No!" Walter cried indignantly. His dearest wish in life was to be as awesome as his big cousin Rigel. "I can like him too."

"Good. Ready to go?"

"Should I bring anything?" Grace asked her. Lenna shook her head.

"No, Grimmauld has a house elf and he's extremely happy to make anything anybody wants."

"Posh," muttered Cal.

"What's a house elf?" Walter asked.

"You're going to find out, darling."

"Where are we going again?"

"To the house Rigel's dad Regulus grew up in."

"Wicked." He took his aunt's hand. They all trooped out of the house and behind some of the bushes between their property and their neighbors. Walter giggled. He didn't like Apparating overly much, but he did like hiding behind things.

"Everybody ready?" Walter had one of Lenna's hands and Cal had the other; Grace held to his other arm. "Okay." They squeezed through space and popped in front of the string of houses, looking at Numbers 11 and 13. As they watched, the houses squeezed apart and Number 12 materialized. Walter stared.

"Wicked," he whispered. Still holding his hand, Lenna walked up to the stoop and led them inside.


	44. CHAPTER 44: MAGIC

**CHAPTER 44: MAGIC  
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…

"Though no one can go back and make a brand-new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand-new ending."  
>―Carl Bard<p>

…

**S**he was surprised to see that while she'd been gone some people had arrived—friends of Rigel's that he had invited. Holly, her older sister, Scott, and Abraxas were in the room, along with two girls she had to hear the names of again—Marlena Holmes and her younger sister Cathleen who looked like she couldn't be older than eleven or twelve.

They had all been served drinks and Kreacher's snacks were set out on the nearby kitchen table as well as the coffee table. Rigel had found an old radio from somewhere and it was playing a popular music station quietly. The kids were gathered around Severus and Severus was showing them how faded his Dark Mark had become—no doubt because Rigel had asked about it.

"RIGEL!" Walter yelled and launched himself across the room to wrap his arms around his cousin. "The bad wizard is dead!"

Rigel looked a bit surprised. "Yes, he is, Walt. Did your mum and dad tell you about him?"

"Yes. And Aunt Lenna. And Harry Potter and Dumbledore and Mr. Snape and everybody defeated him forever!" He threw his hands up and grinned. Rigel laughed a little, still surprised how informed his baby cousin was. Not so baby anymore. "Did you fight? What was it like?" Walter was busting with questions but Rigel waylaid them.

"Walt, I promise I'll tell you everything about it tonight, okay?"

"Okay." Walter grabbed a cookie. "Yum."

"Walter, have you met my friends? This is my girlfriend Holly and her sister Tina. And you know Brax and Scott from hearing me talk about them. And this is Brax's girlfriend Marlena and her sister Cathy."

"They all go to your school?"

"Yep, except Tina because she's graduated. And you've met Professor Snape, right?"

"Is he a teacher at your school?" Walter voice had become a little shy.

"Yep."

Severus shook the little boy's hand. "I don't teach you, Walter, so you can call me whatever you want."

"Even Dorkhead?" Rigel joked.

Severus gave him a look. "If he must, but Mr. Snape would probably suffice."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Snape."

Rigel grinned—the good manners Grace had taught him showed when it counted. Then he watched Walt stuff another cookie into his mouth.

The kids were so lively Lenna and Severus just sat back together and watched them spend time together. Her son took every opportunity to smack kisses on his girlfriend and Walter and Cathy took to each other immediately and began to play with Rigel's charmed dinosaur toys set he'd loved when he was younger. Once in a while she or Walter would mutter "Ow!" when they got bit by one of the two carnivores. Scott was trying his best to flirt with Christine and she tolerated it with indulgent amusement.

It seemed like barely any time at all before more people were showing up in clumps. Neville arrived with his spry grandmother along with Luna Lovegood. Then a number of people from Rigel's school who knew Harry arrived: Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnegan, Michael Corner, and Parvati and Padma Patil. The Patils had thoughtfully come with a plate of food each and Kreacher graciously put the dishes out on the kitchen table, thanking them both twice. A few minutes later Lee Jordan and Oliver Wood came in, and Christina was then lost to poor Scott. Oliver was closer to her age and extremely attractive. Only momentarily daunted, Scott then began charming both Patil twins at once and found then to be much more grateful recipients.

Even as Lenna was magically enlarging the living room to fit the crowd more comfortably, Minerva, Hestia Jones, and Nymphadora Tonk's parents Ted and Andromeda (who looked enough like her sister Bellatrix to give one a turn) arrived with baby Teddy with them. Lenna had not expected the Tonkses, and she joined the rest of the momentarily-hushed crowd in extending her condolences. Ted and Andromeda seemed to be hardy people, and Andromeda, though her eyes were moist, told Lenna that she and her husband had wanted to be with friends tonight and to try to celebrate the victory their daughter had died for. Lenna not only admired their strength but took so fast and hard to tiny Teddy that no one could pry her away from the three for a good hour and a half.

Rigel had introduced himself to Andromeda and had explained who he really was and how they were related. She was amazed at the revelation that her cousin Regulus had had a son before he died, and Rigel, who had known none of his father's actual family except for Sirius, was very excited to meet and form a bond with her.

Minerva, Hestia, Cal, Grace, and Neville's grandmother all took up conversation with Ted Tonks; Lenna noticed there was some awkward tension between Minerva and Severus across the room. They'd have to deal with it themselves, though. She had Teddy in her arms and the minute she had settled him there, his tuft of soft hair had turned robin's egg blue and he'd gurgled.

"He likes you," Andromeda had told her with confidence.

"I imagine it's pretty obvious when he doesn't like someone," Lenna had replied, beaming. It had been too long since she'd held a baby. She lost herself in making him coo and barely even heard when the kids began playing exploding snap.

When she looked up Severus had joined the group, Minerva was teary-eyed, and Severus was patting her awkwardly on the back as she embraced him like a brother and exclaimed, "All this time—and for Lily—and I never knew—I was foolish—"

"It was the point that no one knew…" Severus said, looking to Ted for rescue.

"Let the man breathe, Minerva," said Neville's grandmother.

Kreacher's treats and snacks disappeared so fast that he was delighted and kept making more and different things. Lenna put a charm on the butterbeers in the ice bucket on the kitchen table so they replicated and replenished themselves. Rigel and Holly both took turns holding Teddy and when he was in his arms, Rigel immediately asked his mother, "Where is Teddy gonna live, 'cause we can take him."

Lenna smiled. "Teddy has a lot of available homes. I imagine Ted and 'Dromeda want to hold onto their grandson but even they were willing to part with him, Bill and Fleur have a home for him and he's Harry's godson so Harry could take care of him as well."

"Harry's not ready to be a parent, though."

"No, probably not."

"So I'm putting us in line behind Bill and Fleur. I like this guy." He rocked him up and down and made his eyes big.

Lenna laughed. "I'm very okay with that. I like him, too."

"Teddilicious Lupinnn…metamorphmagi _master_!"Rigel exclaimed in a singsong voice, lifting Teddy into the air as if he were flying.

"Did you just make the baby a theme song, Rigel?"

"All babies need theme songs." Rigel was grinning. "Harry's was 'Gonna kick some aaaaass…I'm _Harry_!'"

"Uh-huh."

When Rigel had given Teddy up to the next person that wanted to hold him, he went back to standing beside Severus. He probably didn't realize it himself, but he'd taken to shadowing Severus and claiming his attention as much as possible. It showed how hungry he was for a father figure and how well he was taking to his mom's boyfriend. Severus had always found Rigel easy and engaging to talk to, and was glad for the constant company since socializing was hardly his cup of tea.

It was getting late when the star of the day finally walked in the room. He went up to Rigel.

"Sorry I'm late, Ri, I just left the Weasley's. Hermione's with them. They might come by later in the night but not right now, with so many kids and people."

"Of course." Rigel gave Harry a hug.

"Grimmauld looks really good."

"My mom and Severus and I cleaned it up before everyone got here."

"Thanks for that. This is your house as much as mine and you know you're welcome to stay here anytime. Come live here and bring friends, even. It's too big and empty for just me."

"Thanks, Harry. D'you want a butterbeer?"

"Sure, I'll take one."

Rigel went off to grab that for him, and Severus was left alone with the Boy Who Lived. He had nothing to say. He didn't _want_ to say anything. This boy he'd always despised, who still looked terribly like James Potter, now knew every secret Severus had forced down inside of himself so no one would ever discover it. It was mortifying, it didn't matter how much of a self-sacrificing hero the boy was. Severus could barely keep a scowl from his face.

Harry hugged him.

Much like Minerva's hug, it came completely unexpectedly and Severus froze still as stone.

"Thank you, Professor," said Harry sincerely. "For everything you've done. For me and for everyone." He stepped back; Severus was looking off toward the wall, his jaw tight. He nodded curtly. But as uncomfortable as it made Severus feel, Harry almost never left his side. Rigel and Harry were Severus' constant shadows—two boys who had finally both found a father figure who wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Lenna left Teddy to provide Severus some moral support since his body language with Harry screamed of his discomfort. She took Severus' hand and brought him to one of the unoccupied couches. Harry, Rigel, and Holly who had rejoined Rigel, followed. Harry sat next to Severus on the couch and Rigel and Holly sat on the floor on cushions in front of the three of them. Lenna put her hand on Severus' leg and rubbed him reassuringly with her thumb. He put his hand on hers gently.

"Harry, Severus' Dark Mark is faint as hell now," Rigel told him. "Look." He took Severus' arm and pushed up the sleeve. Lenna had to smile at the familiarity with which her son now interacted with his Potions professor.

Harry leaned over to look at the faded gray Mark. He nodded. "My scar's stopped hurting, too. First time in about two years that it hasn't twinged almost constantly. Rigel, you know how there are more Death Eaters that escaped?"

Rigel nodded, his face lighting up as he predicted what Harry was going to ask him.

"Well" —Harry glanced at Lenna— "if your mum's okay with it, Kingsley and I were wondering if you wanted to spend this summer helping the Ministry Aurors and I clean things up."

"Yes," he replied immediately. "Mum and I already talked about it. I want to. Thanks for—for letting me help even though I'm underage."

"Well, as I understand it, you're an excellent dueler and you can already Apparate."

"_What_?" said Holly. "Rigel!"

"Yeah, I can Apparate," Rigel admitted. "I did it to get to the Department of Mysteries fourth year."

"_Fourth_ year? Why didn't you tell us?"

He shrugged. "Didn't want to brag."

Holly rolled her eyes. "Merlin."

Harry looked at Severus and Lenna. "And if you'd like, we'd be grateful to have your help, too, Professor, Mrs. Black."

Severus nodded.

"I'm going to want a bit of break, first," Lenna told Harry. "But then, yes, if you need me, I'll be there."

"Rigel!" came Walter's demanding eight year-old voice. He thrust Rigel's wooden box into his cousin's hands. "Did you bring any animal candy? I wanna show Cathy."

Rigel smiled and opened the correct compartment. "You warned her that it's really weird, right, Walt?"

Cathy nodded. "I'm not scared," she declared.

Rigel handed him the packet and the box again. "Have fun." They kids ran off. Harry bit into one of Kreacher's amazing chocolate truffles.

The party only picked up speed and eventually the scene was too alluring for Rigel and Harry took stick near Severus in favor of it—they joined their friends, laughing, toasting, talking, and dancing a little—while Lenna took the opportunity to cuddle with her love.

"Try and let Harry into your heart, love," she told him gently.

He grimaced. "We've spent the past seven years hating each other," he growled.

"He doesn't hate you anymore. In fact he can't seem to be around you enough. Rigel's the same."

"What do you mean?"

She shook her head, smiling. "Sev…you hated Harry because of his father and because of your hate he hated you in return and two only saw the worst sides of each other. But now's he had seen the best of you. I can tell that you don't quite know how to deal with respect and admiration from him—I can see how it throws you—but it's not going to change. He sees you for who you are now, Sev. You loved his mother and kept him safe. You've become in his eyes…the father he wished he could have had."

Severus was silent and speechless. She could have told him how similarly her son felt about him, but she thought perhaps it would be too much at the moment. She brought his fingers to her lips and kissed them gently.

"Ever since he arrived here…all I've seen in him is _her_," he admitted.

"They say he takes after her quite a bit."

"He'd always been his dad before."

"He's both. Although his upbringing has been much different than James'. Less privileged."

"I don't know how to…"

"I know." She reached up and touched his face comfortingly. "It's nothing you need to force. You too will get to know each other and become more comfortable in time." She kissed his shoulder.

Someone had brought champagne, and Lenna helped herself to a few glasses as the night continued. A few of Harry's friends left before it got too late, as did Marlena and Cathy. Eventually many people were heading out and the living room was clearing. Cal and Grace left to get Walter to bed and most of Harry's friends and some of the adults took their leave. Neville's grandmother began to tire, and so Neville left with her and Luna, who they'd brought with them. Holly and Tina had promised their mother not to stay too terribly late so they got going, and even Abraxas and Scott, yawning, eventually left.

Eventually the only ones still in the house were Rigel, Lenna, Severus, Harry, and Kreacher. Grimmauld felt empty without more of the Order. There would be no more seeing Remus or Tonks here…and the Weasleys—Rigel had never realized how much of the Order their one family comprised.

They had all pulled couches and chairs together in the living room and were still munching Kreacher's confections and little sandwiches. The champagne Lenna had downed had gone slightly to her head and she sat with her head on Severus' shoulder, smiling happily, while Rigel, Harry, and Severus animatedly conversed about the past and the future. Hearing the three of them being together this way made her feel warm and content. All three felt like her boys, even though she'd only met Harry a few short years ago. He was such a perfect older brother for her son that had adopted him into her heart without even thinking about it.

Severus, liberated from all his prior constraints as a triple agent full of personal secrets, found himself not needing to think, lie, or scheme while he interacted. He was just himself. He was rediscovering who in fact that self was. But the liberation opened him up in a way he hadn't been open to anyone but Lenna. It felt so good not to have to play a part, not to have to keep up pretenses to protect himself… With these three people…he felt like he had a family.

Kreacher shuffled in and Lenna patted the couch seat next to her, inviting him to sit with them. Kreacher went into delighted raptures over the kindness and sat listening to the conversation and looking at all of them in turn with adoration in his large, shiny eyes.

They all looked up in surprise when they heard noises of what sounded like a large group of people entering the house. Familiar voices drifted to them and Rigel smiled, glad the Weasleys had come.

Bill, Charlie, Percy, George, Ron, Ginny, Fleur, and Hermione came in and over to them. Their eyes were red but dry. Some snagged butterbeers and cookies or truffles. There were hugs. As Lenna put her arms around Ginny, she heard Severus apologizing to George for his ear and explaining himself. She hugged Hermione, Ron, Fleur and George, and noticed that Percy and George shadowed one another. It seemed to her perceptive eyes that Percy was filling in the hole beside George that Fred's absence had created. If she had known Percy, she would have barely recognized him—his pompous, ambitious exterior had disappeared and it turned out that he was more similar to his twin brothers underneath than even he had been allowing himself to recognize. Once he lost his airs and pretentions, his attitudes and approaches to things lined up well with George's. He was not and never would be Fred, but he was still George's brother, who had been both reality-checked by their family's loss and determined to do everything he could for a brother he had so often written off.

The kids seemed grateful for the tasty food and drink available and they filled in the couches and chairs gathered together in the living room.

"Mum and Dad weren't up for anything tonight," Ron explained quietly to them. "But we all thought it'd be nice to come and see you lot for a bit, once things died down. Did many people show up?"

"Yeah," Rigel answered. "I hadn't expected so many. My family was here—my uncle Cal and aunt Grace and my cousin Walter —and my girlfriend Holly and her older sister, and my friends Brax and Scott, and then Neville and his grandmother and Luna Lovegood, Professor McGonagall, Hestia Jones, Ted and Andromeda Tonks with the baby, Oliver Wood, Lee Jordan, Michael Corner, Seamus, Dean, and the Patils, and Brax's girlfriend Lena and her sister—"

"Sounds like quite a crowd," said Charlie. He tried for a smile. "I met you at the wedding, right?"

"Yes. I'm Rigel. That's my mum, Lenna."

"Charlie Weasley."

"Right. So, yeah, it was nice to have everybody together after everything before we're all away for summer. I'm really glad you guys came now to hang out for a bit."

Everyone settled into chairs and couches and the murmurs of the conversation dulled to a low hum as Lenna's eyelids grew heavy.

"Should we leave the kids at it and go to bed?" she asked Sev. He nodded.

"Sure."

She stood up. "Alright guys, we're headed to bed. Harry, where would you like Rigel, Severus, and I to sleep?"

"Well," said Harry, "I was going to convert the master bedroom into my own, so that leaves Sirius' and Regulus' room and any of the other smaller ones."

"I'll take Sirius' tonight," Rigel piped up quickly. "I haven't even given that room a good look yet."

Severus noticed Lenna's hesitancy and interpreted it correctly.

"Len, we don't have to sleep in Regulus' bed if…"

"No, it's okay."

"We could take Sirius'."

Lenna took his hand instead of replying. She led them out of the room and down the hall to the staircase. His warm fingers felt good in hers.

They walked into Regulus' old room and the lamps in the walls lit themselves. It was clean and comfortable as Lenna had left it earlier that evening. Severus looked at her.

"If it feels to wrong to sleep in his bed with me…" he began quietly. She was shaking her head slowly.

"The idea threw me for a moment, but that's all. And mostly what threw me was how things have changed. How another man has filled his place in my heart. I didn't expect that place to ever really be filled."

"I understand exactly what you mean."

"I know that you do." She shed all her clothes but her underwear. Severus followed suit; he looked as tired as she felt. They climbed into bed together and the lamps dimmed until they went out.

"Severus?" Lenna asked, lying in his arms in the darkness.

"Yes?"

"I…I wanted to talk to you about something."

"What?"

"Did you know that Regulus killed a man?"

"I was under the impression he killed a number of people."

"He ever only killed one person. It was an accident, but…he was still responsible." She shifted in the dark and looked up toward his face. "Sev, the man…the man was Holly Pollux's father."

Severus was quiet for a heartbeat, then: "Do any of them know?"

"No."

"I wouldn't tell them. Especially not Rigel. Or Holly's mother."

"I know…it could destroy what he and Holly have…and cause his mother to hate me, and she's become a friend. Rigel thinks his dad never killed anyone…but I think of how huge a secret that is…how he and Holly are connected in such a way… Their affection is like redemption for the cruelties of the past."

"Yes, but Len, they're too young to be able to accept things like that. It would only cause them pain. And Holly's mother—she's spent much of her life nursing loathing for her husband's killer just as you have for the Dark Lord. She would not see the closure in it."

"I know. I just needed to talk about it with someone."

He held her a little tighter. "It's incredible what things connect us all."

She nodded, her heavy eyes closed as she lay on his chest. "Magic," she murmured.

…

…

That's the end, guys. Hope you enjoyed it all and are satisfied with where things ended up. Thanks for reading & review pretty, pretty please.


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